Flagging my disapproval

An emerging new trend that I have noticed amongst the Australian populace is a penchant to attach seasonal decorations to their car windows to advertise their participation in the relevant national event or public holiday of the day. While adorning your car with reindeer antlers, whilst tacky, is harmless, flying our national flag on Australia Day raises more complicated questions. This practice is particularly concerning given that two days post Oz Day, a significant percentage of this morning's traffic still retain their patriotic banners. While one can be forgiven for leaving the Christmas tree up deep into January, packing away the window flag does not appear to require significant effort. It concerns me that many drivers do not see a problem with year round flag flying. Some may ask, what is the problem with showing pride in your nation? The symbolism of national flags needs to be discussed to answer this question.

Do you remember the old Loony Tunes cartoons where Marvin the Martian would dig his flag into the ground and proclaim “I claim this planet in the name of Mars”. Whilst amusing, it does highlight that one of the original purposes of a flag was to proclaim possession over a given area or object. In paint ball games, for example, the mission is to capture the opposing team's flag. For some absurd reason, my next door neighbour has an almighty flag pole in his back yard. This metaphorical marking of your territory, a la the neighbourhood pooch squirting his piss on the stobie poll, smacks of either an insecurity of or hostility to outsiders. One's mind is drawn back to the hysteria surrounding the Mabo decision, with Joe Public fearing that Ernie Dingo (the most famous Indigenous Australian of the time) would be able to come along and pitch a tent in his front yard. The flying of a flag on a car, a moving item of property, however, is more analogous to naval matters.

While I am not an expert in the laws of the sea, I do know that in naval voyaging, the flying of the flag sent important messages to fellow travellers about the intentions and origins of the particular vessels. My sense is that at least on a a sub-concious level, citizens with window flags are trying to send a message to fellow citizens. Do they feel that they are more patriotic than the rest of us? Are we inferior Australians if we don't join in. And what sort of message does this send to visitors or recent arrivals to our country. I suspect that if German immigrants all started flying their flag on their VW's, there would be a slight controversy. If a Sudanese or Afghani started flying their national flag, I suspect there would be a major uproar. The carrying of national flags at soccer games was outlawed last decade in this country because of the ethnic disunity that it created. With the Cronulla riots still relatively fresh in the memory, I would argue that the recent proliferation of union jacks and southern crosses is not desirable.

Some commentators on this issue have been more extreme in their views, and have drawn comparisons to the Nazi obsession with symbols of nationality and affiliation. While I am not quick to draw such parallels, I think that it is healthy and necessary to have a discussion about the path that we seem to be embarking upon. While not everyone flying the flag is a right wing nationalist, extremist Australian groups do use symbols such as the Southern Cross to advance their prejudiced views. I believe that it is necessary to continue to debate the rise of nationalist sentiments in our country, especially given that our world is becoming smaller and more interconnected every day.