Flags flutter over each state capital within the U.S. They bear emblems symbolizing the states they signify: a boldface C for Colorado, a lone star for Texas. They adorn magnets, mugs and T-shirts. They fly at half-staff in mourning.
However state flags may also turn out to be objects of rivalry — particularly when lawmakers attempt to change them, as my colleagues Sarah Almukhtar and Mitch Smith reported. A number of the disagreements are aesthetic. Others are nostalgic.
“Individuals really feel very hooked up and don’t like the thought of change,” Sarah mentioned.
In March, Utah enacted a invoice to interchange the present flag — a century-old design that includes the state seal, an eagle perched atop a defend — with a crimson, white and blue homage to the state’s mountains, canyons and early settlers. Many preferred the brand new commonplace, however opponents bristled on the thought of changing a flag that was offending nobody. “They’re making an attempt to cancel our heritage,” one sad Utahn lately mentioned whereas gathering signatures to place the flag to a statewide vote.
What makes a great flag? Consultants and designers who spoke to Sarah and Mitch favor simplicity, distinctiveness and symbols which can be legible from a distance. A number of the most iconic embody Alaska’s, which appears just like the evening sky splashed with a constellation of stars; Maryland’s, with its distinctive black-on-yellow and red-on-white geometric patterns; and California’s, which contains a loping grizzly bear above the phrases “California Republic.”
And when a flag fails to unite, some People simply go their very own approach. In Maine, the place I grew up, it’s frequent to see flagpoles topped with a model of the banner the state first adopted in 1901, which depicts a pine tree and a blue star, as an alternative of the present flag, which units the state’s coat of arms in opposition to a navy backdrop.
“The aim of a flag is for it to be flown,” Sarah mentioned. “No matter what’s official, the individuals have chosen which one is theirs.”
For extra
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Sarah and Mitch’s interactive story allows you to examine state flags and see how they’ve modified.
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Check your information of the numerous colours, mottoes and symbols that festoon flags with this quiz.
NEWS
Politics
The Sunday query: Do the authorities in Georgia have a stronger case in opposition to Trump than the particular counsel?
The 41-count Georgia indictment “is so difficult and entails so many individuals that any trial can be tough to conduct,” Carl Leubsdorf writes in a syndicated column in The Seattle Instances, including that the particular counsel’s four-count indictment is “tightly drawn.” However for all its complexity, the Georgia case “is by far essentially the most complete” of the indictments in opposition to Trump, Austin Sarat writes in The Hill, and can function “a discussion board to look at the harm he has performed to our democracy.”
Dr. Peter Attia is the co-author of “Outlive: The Science and Artwork of Longevity,” which has been a runaway finest vendor because it was revealed in March. I spoke to him earlier this 12 months about learn how to stay longer and more healthy.
Should you have been to say to somebody, “Should you don’t do the rest to extend your well being span, no less than begin doing X,” what would X be?
Many individuals, I feel, are underemphasizing energy coaching. There’s the sense that, Yep, I’m climbing, I’m strolling. These issues are nice, however the sine qua non of growing older is the shrinkage or atrophy of Kind 2 muscle fiber. That’s the factor we in all probability have to protect most in opposition to, and you may’t try this with out resistance coaching.
You’re asking individuals to pay a major quantity of consideration to the specifics of their diet, bodily exercise and sleep. Don’t you suppose there’s a hazard of pathologizing these regular issues by micromanaging them and linking them to potential dangers?
That’s doable. The query is: What’s the stability of profit versus hurt? We’re in all probability nonetheless in a world the place a majority of individuals are not paying sufficient consideration to these issues, versus too many individuals paying an excessive amount of consideration.
If I resolve to turn out to be hyperfocused on well-being within the hope that I’ll be more healthy and have extra high quality time to spend after I’m older — why give away all this time and power after I’m nonetheless comparatively younger and wholesome?
I see it as an optimization drawback. I may say, “I’m going to spend this summer time in Ibiza, partying with my pals, by no means lifting a finger, and boy, will I’ve enjoyable.” However the value I’ll pay with my well being is just too nice.
Learn extra of the interview right here.
