Sunday 3 June 2012

What's in a Flag?


In the week leading up to the Queen’s Jubilee weekend, Northern Ireland was debating its flag policy as part of the all-party ‘Shared Future’ working group. An agreed consensus however could not be found and the Alliance Party withdrew from the group. You might wonder what all the fuss is about, after all flags are just a piece of fabric aren’t they? But that couldn’t be further to the truth.

Flags have always been a point of contention in Northern Ireland and are synonymous with political and cultural allegiances. Flags in general are loaded with history and the shared heritage of a nation. The Union Jack was created at the union of the nations of the British Isles in 1800 and has since been present at so many milestones in the history of the UK. But its symbolism of union may have to evolve if Scotland votes for independence and the question of whether the St Andrew’s cross should be removed from the UK’s flag is already being asked.

In recent years the Union Jack has seen a renaissance, with it becoming an integral part of the trend celebrating a vintage era of quaint tea parties and old-fashioned values. The Jubilee weekend is full of kitsch street parties and all the paraphernalia that goes with them, adorned in the Union Jack flag. It has to be said however that this has mostly been the trend in England and there has been a noticeable lack of Jubilee celebrations over here in NI, unsurprisingly.

Flags are an indication of identity and all those flying them this weekend are expressing an identity as the subjects of a ruling monarchy. It is an identity however that many will not share. It’s this conflict over the identity of a nation that raises the issue of what place a flag has. If a nation cannot join together under one flag then should it be flown at all? But a nation without a flag is one that says it has given up trying to find common values. A flag is worth arguing over because it is important for any country to find common grounds otherwise there would be a very disparate society indeed.

NI is exactly a community struggling to find common grounds, though it has to be said the people here deserve applause for the conflict they have put behind them already. However the politicians on the hill have a great deal further to go before they can be awarded the same. If agreement can’t be made over the policy of flags then what precedent does this set for continued discussions on a ‘shared future’ in NI? Time will tell if old grudges can be put to bed and sacrifices made in order to really move forward.

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