#FutureExpat, it is not a current events story. But current events, sometimes they can not be brushed aside, ignored. This time, now, THESE events, daily events, I would say they fit the bill, definitive history, history that can not be brushed away.
We’re in it, deep in it, living in a moment. We can see history writing itself. Right now, this is A Historic Time - genuine, real deal AHT.
January 6, 2021 - four days ago, it was not a dream. It was real. IT happened. WTF? What do we stand for? What will we stand for?
WHO ARE WE?
Whatever that was, I don’t want to hear the phrase - “that’s not who we are” - ever again. It is who we (a significant number of us apparently) are. We don’t have to accept it. I would suggest we not (accept it).
But we do, WE DO have to look at that, what we witnessed, that thing that resulted in the deaths of five fellow Americans. FIVE DEAD. Someone’s daughter, someone’s son. What did they die for?
And looping back to Europe, where I left off, that last time I wrote, we were in Barcelona, Spain.
My mind, this morning riffed to this photograph I took, on our walk from our Guest House, east to the Old Town. We stopped for a beer. I noticed a number of these flags. I thought they were unique, interesting, attractive. I took this (pretty bad) random shot.
And after our return home, a couple years later, a headline caught a moment of my interest. Spain, Barcelona, some people, they were marching there, there was some minor violence, no one died. I saw that flag again.
That flag in our photo, flying above us in Barcelona, while we quaffed at our beer. That flag is known as Estelada. It is a flag flown by Catalonia independence supporters.
Oh but wait, with research I learned (this morning) that this pretty flag, Estelada, it comes in different flavors, it has variations.
That flag in our picture, that is the Blue Star Estelada. It also comes in Red Star (Estelada), or one might prefer a No Star version. The No Star strain, that’s called Senyera.
But wait, wait, there is a Green Star version, the strain preferred by ecologists and animalist (translate - Tofu Lovers). There’s another variation, Black Field with a Red, Eight Pointed Star (who ever heard of an eight pointed star?). That there, that’s the Anarchist version. Wow!
And there are more, variations, flavors, an Estelada, one for every sect, wing, belief and disbelief. No matter what you care about, or don’t care about, in Barcelona, Catalonia, there is a Estelada (flag), one that is JUST RIGHT for you. (Call Now.)
And I follow my bread crumb trail back, even though I don’t want to, I come back to US(A), who we are, where we are, wherever that is. US, here, now, today.
Look at all of our pretty flags, lined up in a row. See them fly. Which flag do you hold dear? Which flag (flavor) is the right one, the special one, the one that makes your heart sing?
Spaniards, Catalonians, Americans. I’m not so sure now about that flag in Barcelona. It’s not looking so attractive to me today. Look it up. The Spanish flag. It’s pretty nice. Good enough. Yes, I think so.
The American flag. I like it. It is enough (for me). Maybe it’s time to put those other flags away? One flag to be proud of. One flag to represent us all.