Old Glory Red
by Lisa Lucas
OK so I keep writing about the World Cup and this is supposed to be a Substack about food…and feminism…and freedom. So technically, this counts.
The day after the World Cup final, I woke up and put on a red t-shirt. Not just any red. It is literally the shade of what has become synonymous with MAGA red. I love this shirt. It’s French, made by Petit Bateau, one of my favorite brands. I bought it on my honeymoon in Aix-en-Provence. I cannot adequately express my devotion to these t-shirts, as we have no equivalent in the United States—even from high-end designers. Gap used to come close, but they were cheaply made and would fall apart after a year. Petit Bateau’s have a high crew neck, they are organic cotton and they are very flattering on a woman’s body. And they last! OMG I have had ones that have lasted years. They are so well made.
Anyway, when I was last at a Petit Bateau shop, the racks were filled with the colors of the French flag: rouge, blanc et bleu, including black, because, well, France. Comme d’habitude (as usual), I buy four tees. They were having a sale. The black, white and blue have become my wardrobe workhorses to pair with blazers and jackets, jeans and skirts. Still going strong with their stitching, they have kept their shape as if they were purchased yesterday. But the red one, I had yet to wear. It remains this new t-shirt, crease lines from the folds still visible from where it lay for more than two years in the cutest shopping bag, meticulously crisp, frozen in time, having survived my virgo-approved-jenga-like suitcase packing style home and, continued, living undisturbed with store bought freshness, preserved at the bottom of my dresser drawer.
Even though I purchased it during the Biden administration, I couldn’t bring myself to wear it as that particular shade of red, officially called Old Glory Red by Pantone, has been hijacked in the United States by a traitorous cult that wraps itself in patriotism while undermining the very democracy it claims to defend. Ever since the dictator-in-chief descended that hideous golden escalator, this color red has become less about the American flag and more about ugly red hats, conspiracy theories and January 6th level treason.
If you are pro-democracy, you don’t get to wear red anymore. It sucks because I truly love wearing red, it’s a good color on me. I’ve gravitated towards burgundies and maroons, avoiding any MAGA red that might be mistaken as a dead ringer for hatred. I will have none of it. And I am resentful of the fact that if you see an American Flag flying in someone’s driveway, it is assumed that they are far-right Republicans and therefore, patriots. I am a patriot, too. Damn straight. A proud Democrat. I want to wear our colors without feeling like I am endorsing authoritarianism. Fortunately for me, I can wear a lot of blue and white and sometimes red checkers, as Croatia has the same colors as the U.S.—although the blue is a lighter blue, like the Adriatic Sea and I don’t feel like I’m psychologically in the American zone.
For the last decade, especially ever since Trump and his deplorable followers came on the scene, everything even remotely resembling Americana symbolism has felt tainted, and not only made it impossible to be proud of the flag or the colors, the motifs themselves have taken a high dive into the grotesque. And I really resent this. Why can’t we do better? Be better?
Growing up, I did not know much about the history of the American flag beyond hearing the story of Betsy Ross in elementary school—because she was one of the four women a female student could portray on America Heritage Day at my strict religious school. The others were Clara Barton, Dolley Madison or Florence Nightingale. When I arrived for the parade as Susan B. Anthony in first grade, that shook things up quite a bit, but that’s another story…
The truth is, The Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, The Red, White and Blue, belong to all of us. According to the official U.S. Government website, “the colors of the American flag are Basic White, Old Glory Red, and Old Glory Blue. These are specific textile shades defined in the Standard Color Reference of America. The red represents hardiness and valor, the white stands for purity and innocence, and the blue signifies vigilance, perseverance, and justice.” These ideals were never meant to be attached to one political party. They belong to every American striving to make this country live up to its promise.
Here is a great short summation of the history of our flag:
https://www.pbs.org/a-capitol-fourth/history/old-glory/
And then came the morning after the World Cup final. I saw that untouched red t-shirt peeking out from the bottom of my drawer and thought, I’m going to wear roja today for the Spanish fútbol champions! So I did. I wore it all day and something unexpected happened. Not once did I think about it being associated with MAGA. Not once.
I am beginning to feel the strange sensation of real hope. I know we are still living through extraordinarily difficult times from the daily onslaught of disastrous decisions made by our government’s leader and majority. The World Cup, on our end, reflected so much of America. We definitely experienced the good, the bad and the ugly American during this tournament. But in the end, the team that won played fairly and well and deserved it. And this made me feel differently, I saw a glimmer of a chance that we can get out of this. We can save this. We can take back our country.
I know Debrianna and I keep saying this over and over. We have to VOTE like our lives depend on it in November. Because they do. We can triumph over evil. Ordinary people like us have the power right at our fingertips to change things, to show up and protect what is ours. To get that national healthcare and all the other things we want to improve our lives and progress. To hold all of these GOP cretins accountable for their crimes.
However, most importantly, in order to achieve this, we have to vote blue. Old Glory Blue, to be exact.
Watch or listen to Lisa reading Old Glory Red:
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XO D&L