The other day as I was exiting our driveway I looked over in our neighbors yard. They have a large flag pole. Right below the good ole red, white, and blue was a yellow flag. At first I didn't know what this flag represented. When I looked closer there was a image of a serpent with the phrase "Don't Tread on Me" below. My mom told me that this is the flag that was adopted by new the Tea Party movement.
From my previous knowledge about the Tea Party I have figured that they were a predominantly Christian Conservative group. I wasn't sure why they would choose this flag to represent their political party because the serpent represents betrayal and has very negative connotations in literature. In the bible, Adam and Eve's encounter with the serpent represented temptation and the devil figure. I was curious to see why the Tea Party had chosen this flag to represent them.
After researching a bit about the history of the "Don't Tread on Me" flag, I found out that it was originally called the Gadsden flag. This is a very historical flag that was named after a general. Originally, this flag was used as a Marine Corp motto. The rattlesnake coiled up ready to strike is suppose to represent a symbol of the early colonies during the American Revolution. In 1775 Philadelphia, the first marine companies were enlisted into the army and they carried these Gadsden flags. This was the first record of the Gadsden flag's symbol. Later, the star spangled banner (stars and stripes) took over and came to represented the United States.
In modern day it is seen as a representation of either American patriotism, disagreement with the American government, or support for civil liberties. It is interesting because Nike used the symbol of the coiled rattlesnake on soccer balls to represent the US men's Soccer team. Metallica on their "Black Album" has a song called "Don't Tread On Me" and on the album cover there is a picture of a coiled rattle snake in the right hand corner.
In 2009, the Tea Party adapted this as there flag to assert their disagreement with what they perceive as expansion of government while at the same time remaining patriotic to America. What do you think about the Tea Party choosing this flag to represent them? What are they trying to convey through using this flag?
Love that you iPhoned this shot. I hope others take up your habit. I am also pleased that you actually researched what the origin of the flag was -- I was wary that you wouldn't at first :)
ReplyDeleteFinally, I think it's laudable that you made your own interpretation of the usage of the snake. It DOES seem like a strange choice, given our ambivalence toward this creature, historically.