yes that Karen Davis

Flag Day in Hudson NY

Civil rights, Vietnam, the right of labor to organize, the Gulf Wars, a woman’s right to choose…for almost fifty years I’ve marched.  I’ve marched alone, with friends, and with family—close to home and on overnight buses. Mostly, it was the opposition who waved the flag as they insulted us. And so I came to distrust people making great displays of flag waving.

To my surprise, I love the Flag Day Parade in Hudson.

I don’t have to be for war to love the people marching in uniform.

I don’t have to believe to love the church people praising their God.

I don’t have to agree with the politicians to enjoy their presence.

I can overlook the mountain of contradictions for the diversity of a day on Warren Street.

The week after the 2010 Flag Day Parade, Hudson’s first Unity Parade marched down Warren Street, led by Hudson High School’s gay prom “king and queen,” the first in the nation.  In years to follow, both parades will draw thousands to Warren Street, and I will celebrate the fact that I am home.

From soon-to-be published book: To the Flag: a parade and memoir to the “The Chimes of Freedom”