Weather beaten banner

When we first moved to this old neighborhood in Northeast Florida, I decided to hang an American flag out front. Not for patriotic reasons, really; it’s just that the previous owners had one, and this is a historic area where Old Glory on the front porch kind of fits the vibe.

Florida’s heat and rain and humidity are hard on flags. I replaced mine for the first time a few years ago. This summer, I saw it was time to replace it again. Some of the stitching had come undone along the middle stripe, and flag hung in two, like a cavalry guidon after a long battle. Now there’s a metaphor.

As before, I ordered another from Amazon. When it arrived I let it hang inside for awhile to get rid of the fold wrinkles. I meant to hang it back on the porch the next day.

But that day, the president committed some new outrage, after a long summer of them — I forget what exactly; it is the nature of this presidency that you really can’t remember much past four or five outrages ago. I thought: “Actually, I’m not going to fly this American flag again until I receive some evidence that this is still America.”

That was nearly three months ago. Tomorrow, of course, is Election Day. The new flag will remain indoors at least until Wednesday morning. By then we’ll know if we live in America or Trumpistan.

If the much-vaunted Blue Wave does not materialize — at least to the extent of ending Republican control of the House — then we’re probably done here. The xenophobia, the corruption, the voter suppression, the march toward full-on autocracy: all of that continues, only much worse. By 2020, one-party minority rule will be so firmly entrenched that subsequent elections will be mostly symbolic. Remember how much the Trumpster admires Putin and the other tin-pot killers.

Which is why I voted 100 percent Democrat and why all true patriots should do the same. No doubt there are a lot of flawed Democratic candidates out there, and no doubt a fair number of them will disappoint. Candidates always do. That doesn’t matter. We are long past the time for subtle policy distinctions. It is not hyperbole to say that the republic itself is now at stake.

The flag is supposed to be a symbol for what America is, not a souvenir for what it was. If things go south on Election Day, this thing is going up to the attic.