Flying the flag

 

Union Jacks and flags of St. George are now appearing on lamp-posts in parts of England. These are “unofficial” flags, in the sense that no local council has authorised their appearance. Flags have now appeared overnight in the small town where I live. A certain amount of debate has begun over what message these flags are meant to convey.

What does a flag represent? Essentially, a flag is a means of identification – usually with a country or a region. So, every country has a flag of its own, which people use as an identifier. In addition, every state in America has its own flag, and some counties and areas in England have their own flag, although they are mostly not well known. Some institutions have a flag of their own – the Fire Brigade, for example. But also unrecognised nations and peoples have their own flag. Palestine has a widely-known flag. Greenland has its own flag, as do Puerto Rico and New Caledonia. So a flag can be a means of proclaiming identity.

So, what does it mean when a national flag appears unofficially on lamp-posts? Is there a message here? Are people being patriotic in flying the flag? Or are they being nationalistic? In 1985, the Universal House of Justice, which is the elected body at the head of the Bahá’í community, wrote a message for the world entitled “The Promise of World Peace”. This message clearly distinguishes between patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism can be defined as "devotion to, and vigorous support for, one’s country”. By contrast, nationalism is “identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations.” So, a nationalist probably does not care about the effect of his actions on other countries.

In “The Promise of World Peace” , the Universal House of Justice wrote: “Unbridled nationalism, as distinguished from a sane and legitimate patriotism, must give way to a wider loyalty, to the love of humanity as a whole.” Bahá’u’lláh Himself stated that, “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.”  So in the Bahá’í view there is nothing wrong with having a love of your country, as well as a love for the whole world. It is “unbridled” nationalism which is wrong – pushing your country’s interests to the point where it has adverse effects on others. We can see several clear examples in the world today, where political leaders are pushing ahead with nationalistic policies which cause death to people in neighbouring territories, or which deprive other people of their livelihoods by interfering with trade patterns. All political action should look towards achieving a best result for the world as a whole – for humanity as a whole. As the Universal House of Justice expressed it: “Love of all the world’s peoples does not exclude love of one’s country. The advantage of the part in a world society is best served by promoting the advantage of the whole.”

Each of the nations, regions and peoples of the world can be represented by a flag, but we need to unite all these nations, regions and peoples into one world. We need to recognise the oneness of humanity: the different colours of humanity are like the different-coloured flowers of one garden. Men and women should be seen as the two wings of humanity – the bird needs both wings to fly. We need to understand that all the world religions come from the same divine source, and exist for the same purpose - to lift standards of behaviour. We need a global free trade area and a fairer distribution of wealth across the world. And we need to develop a system of government which everywhere sees people at one with their elected institutions.

Only then can we have a peaceful world, one in which every flag can be happily flown side by side. Nobody could then object to anyone flying any flag, they would recognise it as a sign of pride in one’s nation.