To the editor:

Flag Day came again two weeks ago. I was pleased to see a fine show of flags in Lawrence both downtown and in front of homes. Somehow, however, both my wife and I had a sense that flying the flag at our house would mark us as supporters of a right-wing agenda including the war against Iraq. That was not realistic. Still, the star-spangled banner, once a symbol of resistance to aggression, is coming to represent the aggressive use of power. We did fly the flag, proudly, but we also thought about what flying it meant and did not mean. Here are some of those thoughts.

We do not hold these to be self-evident truths:

• that citizens must support all actions of their government
• that protest is unpatriotic
• that our leaders always make wise decisions
• that our president always tells the truth
• that the earth and its creatures are ours to use however we wish
• that danger to our citizens justifies setting aside basic individual rights
• that the American way of life is best for all peoples.

Joe Douglas,

Lawrence