What the Scandalous Flags of Southern Idaho Really Say

I had a day off and was driving some side streets in Twin Falls.  I saw a house with a Trump flag and noticed other flags in the neighborhood.  The Gadsden Flag is a relic of the Revolutionary War and revived with the modern Tea Party.  I still see a lot of Trump flags.  A guy in town flies a large one from the bed of his pickup truck.  In some neighborhoods I see several fluttering in the wind.  Often aside the flag of the Marine Corps or the Blue Flag honoring fallen law enforcers. 

In some places around Twin Falls County and Southern Idaho I see old Confederate battle flags.  Now, when a liberal sees one he immediately assumes racism or that the owner of the flag would like to deport minorities.  It’s a shallow view.  I’ve talked to some of the people flying the old rebel flags and many do it simply to make a point.  It’s a symbol of an independent streak.  The message:  I don’t like being pushed around.

Usually it’s a response to liberals trying to limit our God given liberties.  A conservative doesn’t agree with a liberal but leaves the lefties alone.  The libs don’t agree with conservatives and want to force them into compliance.  It’s the great divide in our country.  Polling data often shows Americans growing more hostile to individual liberty but I’ve seen polls where the questions are broken down over specific rights.  The polls start cratering at that point.

There are Republicans I know in public life and they’ll privately tell me they agree with their flag waving neighbors.  Publicly, they worry about losing their seats at the table of the elites.

“I agree with much of what the John Birch Society stands for,” recently one prominent GOP leader told me.  “I just don’t believe we can sell it to the public!”  It’s because we’ve had generations conditioned by the labels applied by mainstream media.  And we’ve got Republican elites who would rather shrink than stand and fight the lies.