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[gentle music playing]
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-[man 1] Beauty.
-[woman] Love.
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-[man 2] Unity.
-Family.
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-Acceptance.
-[man 3] Inclusion and freedom.
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This flag brings fear.
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-Hate.
-Anger.
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Genocide.
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Barbarism.
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[man 4] Propaganda.
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A sense of pride.
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Dream and pursuit of happiness.
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It makes me feel safe.
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-Division.
-Oppression.
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At times,
I feel confused and disappointed.
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[Joep Leerssen]
Flags can terrorize and divide us,
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but they can also unite us.
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They can articulate
who we are and what we want.
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Flags can mean completely
different things to different people,
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and they can be one of the most powerful,
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and sometimes dangerous,
tools in the world.
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[narrator] How can a piece of cloth
both unify and divide us?
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And why does it hold so much power?
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[boy] I pledge allegiance to the flag.
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[newscaster 1]
Displaying to the world his ideal,
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a symbol of his patriotism.
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[newscaster 2] Flags strike
a warm response in every heart.
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[crying] We fought for that flag.
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[man] If the flag could talk,
it could write a book.
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That flag has always
represented hate to me.
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[woman] Changing the flag
signals a change of attitude.
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Indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.
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[Wiley] One of our most basic
human needs is to belong.
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It's why we formed tribes,
clans, and religions.
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And when our group succeeds,
we experience that success as our own.
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[Leerssen] When our team wins, we cheer.
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When our team loses,
we personally feel a trauma
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that wasn't really
our own experience to begin with.
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We merge our own personal identity
into a larger whole.
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[Wiley] And that whole
is represented by the flag.
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The flag is one of the strongest
ideological markers
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in our cultural repertoire.
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[Wiley] But before that,
flags were just tools.
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Early societies used them
to signal across distances
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that a ruler was coming, or an invader.
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Ships used them
to send messages back and forth.
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And they were critical in battle.
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You have to know where your friends are
and where your enemies are.
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And this is signaled by the flag.
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[Wiley] Early flags were made
of everything from animal hair to metal.
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But then, around 6,000 years ago,
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China invented silk.
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It spread rapidly
along a network of trading routes
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known as the Silk Road.
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[Leerssen] Silk was used
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to make the most prestigious flags,
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the flags of the monarchs
and the flags of the heads of state.
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[Wiley] But then these kingdoms
started to fall.
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[Leerssen] In the 19th century,
two revolutions happened.
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People, thanks to technology,
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became more aware of what was happening
all around the country.
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And at the same time, they took over
power from the kings and the rulers.
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What emerged out of that
was a new type of political entity
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called the nation state.
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[Wiley] Without a monarch, these nations
needed a new identity to unite them.
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In order to foster a feeling
of belonging together as a nation state,
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a bit of branding was a useful exercise.
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We needed a shared belief system,
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and the flag helped do that.
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[Wiley] As the legendary German writer
Goethe said,
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"A country starts out
from a name and a flag,
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and it then becomes them,
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just as a man fulfills his destiny."
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[Nelson Mandela]
I have cherished the ideal
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of a democratic and free society.
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It is an ideal
for which I am prepared to die.
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[Wiley] When Nelson Mandela
spoke those words,
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the South African flag
was four flags in one.
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The Union Jack and two Dutch colony flags,
all atop the former Dutch flag.
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They represented the country's colonizers.
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It was a unity
at the expense of the Black people.
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I was forced by the law to attend schools
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specifically designed for Black people.
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I could not go into the town
where white people live.
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I remember being given that flag
as a young child.
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When I later understood
that I was forced to wave
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a symbol of my own oppression,
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it was really something that was...
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repulsive.
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You start realizing that
something has to change here.
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[Wiley] The African National Congress,
or ANC,
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was fighting for that change.
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But at one protest in 1960,
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the police opened fire,
killing 69 unarmed demonstrators,
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in what came to be known
as the Sharpeville massacre.
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In the aftermath,
the government banned the ANC.
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A few years later, they sentenced
one of its leaders, Nelson Mandela,
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to life in prison.
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They also banned the ANC's flag.
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The design of that flag is a story
that's traveled the world and back.
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Starting in Ethiopia, the only African
country that was never colonized
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and the first to adopt a national flag.
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Over the years, their flag changed,
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as power shifted hands
from one monarch to another,
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to communist rule,
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to a republic.
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But outside Ethiopia,
the flag represented African liberation.
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As African countries
broke free from colonialism
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and created their own flags,
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many of them looked to Ethiopia's.
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And Ethiopia inspired another flag, too.
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In the 1920s,
on the other side of the world,
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this was a popular song.
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♪ Every race has a flag but the coon ♪
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[Wiley] When Jamaican activist
Marcus Garvey heard it,
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enraged by the racist lyric,
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he decided to create a flag,
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and he turned to Ethiopia's
for inspiration,
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swapping the yellow for black
to represent the African people
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who the slave trade
had displaced around the world.
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He called it the Pan-African flag.
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"Show me the race or the nation
without a flag," he said,
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"and I will show you
a race of people without any pride."
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A few years later,
Garvey's flag inspired the ANC
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when they designed their own.
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[crowd clamoring]
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In 1990, Mandela was freed
after 27 years in prison.
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Negotiations began to end apartheid,
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and the country held
its first fair and free election.
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[Judge Mojapelo]
On the day of the election,
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I was able to cast a vote
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for the first time in my life.
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It was an emotional
and near-magical experience.
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On the day that we were allowed to vote,
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this flag was also flown.
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[Wiley] The new South African flag
was a combination of the old flag
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and the ANC flag.
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[Judge Mojapelo] It was a symbol of unity.
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It gave me the opportunity
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to identify with my own country.
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[Wiley] Flags have a unique power
to unify and stir loyalty,
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and for governments,
that's a powerful tool.
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There's a reason some countries
mandate flags in schools.
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And in more than 60 countries,
if you desecrate your national flag,
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you can face fines or even prison time.
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Many also have elaborate flag codes,
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carefully detailing
how the flag should be handled,
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treating them with a reverence
usually reserved for religious sacraments.
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["National Anthem of the People's
Republic of China" playing]
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It's a type of propaganda,
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in that you're promoting
a vision of something.
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[Wiley] And no one understood that better
than Adolf Hitler.
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[newscaster] And the German Führer.
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-[trumpets blaring]
-[crowd chanting]
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Adolf Hitler recognized
after the First World War
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and the disillusionment
of the German people
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that a symbol could be used
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to get a group to coalesce around,
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that gave them
a vision of a better future.
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[Wiley] Before coming to power,
Hitler worked for the education
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and propaganda department of the military,
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where he learned the art
of influencing the masses.
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In his autobiography Mein Kampf,
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Hitler wrote that "A striking emblem
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may be the first cause
of awakening interest in a movement."
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[Guenter] The Nazi flag
had the power to inspire fear,
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but it also had the power
to inspire exhilaration.
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[Wiley] Hitler even created a brand guide
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that ran over 500 pages.
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And one of his first decrees as Chancellor
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was banning the old flag
and instituting the Nazi one.
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Then he banned Jews from flying it.
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While flags create an "us,"
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they can also create a "them."
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And they've played that role
throughout history.
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[Leerssen] As the saying goes,
the states made war,
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and war made the state.
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[Wiley] Flags were used to rally citizens
to enlist around the world.
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And they became a solemn emblem
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of the soldier's sacrifice.
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And that's certainly true
of the American flag.
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[Guenter] The cult of the American flag
arose in the 19th century
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to encourage a culture of patriotism.
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It was the first country to have
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a pledge to the flag,
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a flag day, a flag week.
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[explosion]
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[Wiley] But the Vietnam war
marked a turning point.
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As the anti-war movement grew,
the flag became politicized,
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representing two different visions
of America.
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And each side wore it differently.
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The anti-war activist Abbie Hoffman
wore an American flag shirt
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and was charged with desecration
under a new flag protection law.
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While President Nixon,
who prolonged the Vietnam war,
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also started wearing the flag.
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As a pin.
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And though that law was struck down,
the divide stayed
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as America turned to new threats.
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[newscaster] Fidel Castro is exporting
revolutions in our own backyard.
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[Reagan] An informed patriotism
is what we want.
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Let's start with some basics.
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More attention to American history
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and a greater emphasis on civic ritual.
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Suddenly, with Reagan saying
everybody had to be patriotic
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and pro-American, be enthusiastic
about the wars it was going to fight,
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you either got with that or you didn't.
And I didn't.
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I grew up a middle-class Black kid
on the South Side of Chicago.
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Chicago's a very segregated city.
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From your earliest age, when the country
is telling you you do not belong here,
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the founding fathers never thought of you
as being a citizen of this country,
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you don't feel like you're part of it,
and so I never did.
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In 1988, I made the installation
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What Is the Proper Way
To Display a US Flag?
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There's a three-by-five-foot flag
on the ground.
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[Wiley] And above the flag was a notebook,
where visitors could leave comments.
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[Scott] You could stand
either next to it or on it.
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"You're disgracing everyone in America
by placing the flag on the floor."
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"This is the ultimate form of patriotism."
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"You should be executed for high treason."
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There are a couple others.
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"I'm a German girl. If we Germans
would admire our flag as you all do,
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we would be called Nazis again.
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I think you do have
too much trouble about this flag."
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[Wiley] Thousands protested
in front of Scott's exhibit.
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The Senate responded too,
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voting to ban the display
of the flag on the ground.
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Later that year, Congress passed
a new Flag Protection Act,
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making the desecration of the flag
a crime in America once again.
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Support for the First Amendment
need not extend
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to desecration of the American flag.
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That is a national symbol of unity.
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We need unity in this country.
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Symbols are important.
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Americans who want
to burn the American flag
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should consider
moving to Iran, China, or Cuba,
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where burning the American flag
is not only legal, but encouraged.
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We felt that here was
this sort of dying empire
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that was desperately
clutching at its symbols,
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trying to suppress
free speech and dissent.
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[Wiley] The Monday after
the law went into effect,
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Dread and three friends
went to the steps of the US Capitol,
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took out flags and set them on fire.
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[Scott] We were instantly arrested,
and then it went to the Supreme Court.
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[man 1] The potential is
for causing a riot.
244
00:13:14,418 --> 00:13:17,880
Whenever somebody does something
like this to the flag, people get mad.
245
00:13:17,963 --> 00:13:22,301
[man 2] Justice Scalia, once people are
compelled to respect a political symbol,
246
00:13:22,384 --> 00:13:26,055
their respect for the flag
is quite meaningless.
247
00:13:26,138 --> 00:13:28,057
[Wiley] It was a landmark decision.
248
00:13:28,140 --> 00:13:30,976
Today, the US Supreme Court
ruled that burning the flag...
249
00:13:31,060 --> 00:13:33,687
...is a right protected
by the First Amendment.
250
00:13:33,771 --> 00:13:37,191
...constitutional right to free speech.
The ruling was five to four.
251
00:13:37,274 --> 00:13:39,360
Flag burning is effective,
252
00:13:39,443 --> 00:13:42,321
in part because, regardless
of what language people speak,
253
00:13:42,404 --> 00:13:45,115
whether they're in South Korea,
whether they're in China,
254
00:13:45,199 --> 00:13:47,993
they can understand
that this is political dissent.
255
00:13:50,037 --> 00:13:51,789
[Wiley] Since that law was overturned,
256
00:13:51,872 --> 00:13:55,793
the US flag has only become
more omnipresent.
257
00:13:55,876 --> 00:13:58,921
In one survey, six in ten Americans said
258
00:13:59,004 --> 00:14:02,049
they displayed the flag
either at home, at their office,
259
00:14:02,132 --> 00:14:03,884
or on their car.
260
00:14:03,968 --> 00:14:06,053
A culture of patriotism
261
00:14:06,136 --> 00:14:08,973
can be a shield of protection
262
00:14:09,056 --> 00:14:12,852
against a perceived or very real enemy.
263
00:14:14,937 --> 00:14:16,564
[screaming]
264
00:14:18,899 --> 00:14:20,776
[sirens wailing]
265
00:14:22,403 --> 00:14:24,905
After 9/11, three things happened.
266
00:14:25,573 --> 00:14:26,991
People went to church,
267
00:14:27,658 --> 00:14:29,034
they gave blood,
268
00:14:29,118 --> 00:14:30,411
and they bought a flag.
269
00:14:31,036 --> 00:14:35,875
[Wiley] Walmart reportedly sold
116,000 flags on September 11th
270
00:14:35,958 --> 00:14:38,627
and 250,000 the next day,
271
00:14:38,711 --> 00:14:42,339
more than 20 times the amount
sold on those days the year before.
272
00:14:42,965 --> 00:14:46,886
And George W. Bush and his aides
donned flag pins.
273
00:14:46,969 --> 00:14:50,431
While our flag waving goes up after 9/11,
274
00:14:50,514 --> 00:14:52,725
the country might have taken actions
275
00:14:52,808 --> 00:14:55,686
that were contrary to the perceived values
276
00:14:55,769 --> 00:14:57,771
of what the flag represented.
277
00:14:58,689 --> 00:15:02,067
[Wiley] Hate crimes against Muslims
spiked in 2001,
278
00:15:02,151 --> 00:15:04,570
16 times what it had been the year before.
279
00:15:05,154 --> 00:15:07,990
And a New Yorker cover
from November of that year
280
00:15:08,073 --> 00:15:11,994
depicted a multitude of flags,
as a kind of shield for minorities
281
00:15:12,077 --> 00:15:14,705
in a country
that questioned their patriotism.
282
00:15:16,081 --> 00:15:19,335
Six years later,
a junior senator from Illinois
283
00:15:19,418 --> 00:15:21,920
announced he was running for president.
284
00:15:22,004 --> 00:15:24,465
I stand before you today to announce
285
00:15:25,132 --> 00:15:28,177
-my candidacy for president...
-[crowd cheering]
286
00:15:28,260 --> 00:15:30,471
[Wiley] And he chose not
to wear a flag pin.
287
00:15:30,554 --> 00:15:34,934
I decided I won't wear
that pin on my chest.
288
00:15:35,017 --> 00:15:37,478
Instead, I'm gonna try to tell
the American people
289
00:15:37,561 --> 00:15:39,772
what I believe
will make this country great.
290
00:15:39,855 --> 00:15:42,566
Hopefully, that will be a testimony
to my patriotism.
291
00:15:42,650 --> 00:15:43,943
[Wiley] It didn't go over well.
292
00:15:44,026 --> 00:15:46,862
...case in point, something of a controversy
that has erupted
293
00:15:46,945 --> 00:15:48,864
involving Democratic Senator Barack Obama.
294
00:15:48,948 --> 00:15:53,410
Everybody wears them, from a mayor,
to members of Congress, to the president.
295
00:15:53,494 --> 00:15:56,330
It's curious that there's a guy
that doesn't want to do it.
296
00:15:56,413 --> 00:15:59,667
I don’t understand liberal logic.
They just hate the flag.
297
00:16:00,334 --> 00:16:03,671
[Wiley] After the backlash,
Obama started wearing a flag pin.
298
00:16:05,047 --> 00:16:09,134
And then America elected a president
who had no issue embracing the flag.
299
00:16:09,885 --> 00:16:11,679
-Do we love our American flag?
-[crowd cheers]
300
00:16:11,762 --> 00:16:14,390
We believe that children should be taught
301
00:16:14,473 --> 00:16:18,811
to always respect our great American flag.
302
00:16:18,894 --> 00:16:21,021
If you burn the American flag,
303
00:16:21,105 --> 00:16:23,399
you go to jail for one year.
304
00:16:23,482 --> 00:16:24,608
One year.
305
00:16:25,901 --> 00:16:29,905
[Wiley] Trump rallied millions around
a vision of America that was under attack.
306
00:16:29,988 --> 00:16:31,115
From the outside...
307
00:16:31,198 --> 00:16:32,199
Build that wall!
308
00:16:32,282 --> 00:16:33,367
...and within.
309
00:16:33,450 --> 00:16:35,911
Our nation has been gripped
310
00:16:35,995 --> 00:16:37,913
by professional anarchists,
311
00:16:37,997 --> 00:16:41,583
arsonists, looters,
criminals, rioters, Antifa.
312
00:16:41,667 --> 00:16:44,878
Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump!
313
00:16:44,962 --> 00:16:48,007
[Wiley] Which inspired some of them
to wave other flags.
314
00:16:49,591 --> 00:16:51,802
In January 2021,
315
00:16:51,885 --> 00:16:54,388
rioters stormed the US Capitol,
316
00:16:54,471 --> 00:16:56,515
and flags were everywhere.
317
00:16:57,099 --> 00:17:01,103
There were a lot of Trump flags
and right-wing militia flags.
318
00:17:01,186 --> 00:17:02,730
The flag of Kekistan,
319
00:17:02,813 --> 00:17:05,983
a made-up alt-right country
based on a Nazi war flag.
320
00:17:06,567 --> 00:17:10,738
And these yellow flags that were a protest
symbol from the American Revolution.
321
00:17:11,321 --> 00:17:14,366
And Confederate flags,
which represent the southern slave states
322
00:17:14,450 --> 00:17:16,577
that tried to secede in the Civil War.
323
00:17:17,619 --> 00:17:20,497
But this actually wasn't
the flag of the Confederacy.
324
00:17:21,123 --> 00:17:22,040
This was.
325
00:17:22,708 --> 00:17:25,461
This was just the battle flag
of the North Virginia Army,
326
00:17:26,003 --> 00:17:27,963
but it emerged as a prominent symbol
327
00:17:28,047 --> 00:17:32,009
during the civil rights movement
by segregationists, the KKK,
328
00:17:32,092 --> 00:17:35,721
and even some states, which claimed
it represented southern heritage.
329
00:17:36,805 --> 00:17:39,683
But its continued use
by white supremacists
330
00:17:39,767 --> 00:17:43,520
has prompted organizations to ban them
and states to take them down.
331
00:17:47,941 --> 00:17:51,945
Then there were rioters
that waved another, newer flag.
332
00:17:52,029 --> 00:17:54,615
The symbol of a thin blue line
333
00:17:54,698 --> 00:17:57,659
traces back to the Crimean War
in the 19th century.
334
00:17:58,243 --> 00:18:02,956
[Guenter] It started with the red line
of British soldiers
335
00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:05,125
going out to fight the enemy.
336
00:18:05,209 --> 00:18:07,961
[Wiley] By the 1920s,
police forces in America
337
00:18:08,045 --> 00:18:11,131
had adapted the phrase
to the color of their uniforms
338
00:18:11,215 --> 00:18:12,966
and they eventually made it an emblem.
339
00:18:14,092 --> 00:18:16,845
[man] The blue line
that's separating the black halves.
340
00:18:17,429 --> 00:18:20,390
The significance is
it's supposed to protect people.
341
00:18:20,474 --> 00:18:24,019
If you took those officers off the
front line, there'd be complete chaos.
342
00:18:24,686 --> 00:18:27,564
[Wiley] But outside police forces,
this emblem wasn't well-known.
343
00:18:27,648 --> 00:18:30,567
[chanting] Our streets! Our streets!
344
00:18:30,651 --> 00:18:32,653
-What do we want?
-Justice!
345
00:18:33,278 --> 00:18:36,448
[Imperatrice] In 2013,
the Black Lives Matter movement began.
346
00:18:36,990 --> 00:18:40,494
We had the incident
with Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown,
347
00:18:40,577 --> 00:18:43,080
Eric Garner. Just one after the other.
348
00:18:43,163 --> 00:18:45,332
[man] Let's have a moment of silence...
349
00:18:45,415 --> 00:18:47,459
[Imperatrice]
I think officers were sick and tired
350
00:18:47,543 --> 00:18:50,045
of every day being on the front page
of the paper or the news,
351
00:18:50,129 --> 00:18:52,548
being told that they were
the worst things ever.
352
00:18:53,132 --> 00:18:56,510
And in 2014, officers Rafael Ramos
and Wenjian Liu were killed.
353
00:18:57,219 --> 00:19:01,890
That is the motivation of why we created
Blue Lives Matter NYC.
354
00:19:01,974 --> 00:19:03,892
[Wiley] And a new symbol emerged.
355
00:19:03,976 --> 00:19:07,563
The thin blue line
combined with an American flag.
356
00:19:07,646 --> 00:19:09,731
[Imperatrice] To me,
the blue line American flag
357
00:19:09,815 --> 00:19:13,402
gives you a reason to remember
why you put that uniform on every day.
358
00:19:14,444 --> 00:19:17,739
[Wiley] But some people embrace that flag
for different reasons.
359
00:19:18,407 --> 00:19:22,119
In 2017,
far-right extremists were planning a rally
360
00:19:22,828 --> 00:19:25,747
and they had a chat room dedicated
to what flags they would wave.
361
00:19:26,540 --> 00:19:29,251
One person proposed
the thin blue line flag,
362
00:19:29,334 --> 00:19:31,128
and another agreed.
363
00:19:31,211 --> 00:19:34,214
"No one can claim they're unpatriotic,"
he wrote.
364
00:19:34,298 --> 00:19:37,342
"Not to mention I can put one
outside my house or on my bumper
365
00:19:37,426 --> 00:19:39,678
without being investigated
for a hate crime."
366
00:19:40,888 --> 00:19:44,057
That August, when they took
to the streets in Charlottesville,
367
00:19:44,141 --> 00:19:45,934
the images shocked the country.
368
00:19:46,018 --> 00:19:48,687
[crowd chanting] Jews will not replace us!
369
00:19:48,770 --> 00:19:51,440
[Imperatrice] To see white supremacists
using a blue line flag
370
00:19:51,523 --> 00:19:53,150
is a complete misuse, a disgrace.
371
00:19:53,233 --> 00:19:56,945
It's meant to be something that
reminds you of someone that was killed,
372
00:19:57,029 --> 00:20:00,616
not something's that gonna go out there
and cause people harm or damage.
373
00:20:00,699 --> 00:20:02,951
It is the furthest thing
from being racist.
374
00:20:04,453 --> 00:20:06,496
[Wiley] But that's not
how everyone saw it.
375
00:20:07,372 --> 00:20:10,042
[boy] I'm one of the only kids of color
at my school.
376
00:20:10,834 --> 00:20:13,587
The flag being at my school
represented, to me, at least,
377
00:20:13,670 --> 00:20:17,633
that people didn't care about
the lives lost at the hands of police.
378
00:20:18,216 --> 00:20:20,385
That made me feel just scared.
379
00:20:20,469 --> 00:20:22,846
It made me feel uncomfortable.
380
00:20:22,930 --> 00:20:24,890
I didn't want to go to school.
381
00:20:25,515 --> 00:20:28,602
[Wiley] Schools across the country
have banned the thin blue line flag,
382
00:20:28,685 --> 00:20:31,313
including Maxwell's school
in Upstate New York.
383
00:20:31,396 --> 00:20:33,607
[reporter 1] Students are seeing
the symbol as, quote,
384
00:20:33,690 --> 00:20:35,025
"threatening by nature."
385
00:20:35,525 --> 00:20:38,904
[reporter 2] The superintendent believes
the thin blue line is political.
386
00:20:38,987 --> 00:20:41,823
What happened afterwards
was that the community
387
00:20:41,907 --> 00:20:45,786
just overnight started putting up
Blue Lives Matter flags.
388
00:20:45,869 --> 00:20:49,331
They were putting it on their lawns,
in their store windows.
389
00:20:49,414 --> 00:20:50,832
It was shocking.
390
00:20:50,916 --> 00:20:53,001
[Maxwell] It was right next to the store.
391
00:20:53,085 --> 00:20:57,047
I just thought I wouldn't go
to that place anymore. I'd...
392
00:20:58,465 --> 00:20:59,675
I'm sorry.
393
00:21:00,842 --> 00:21:02,844
This is heartbreaking for me.
394
00:21:03,595 --> 00:21:04,930
It really is.
395
00:21:06,056 --> 00:21:09,351
We support fallen officers,
we support our police.
396
00:21:09,434 --> 00:21:12,688
But I have heard this my entire life.
397
00:21:12,771 --> 00:21:14,856
"Oh, the Confederate flag
doesn't mean that."
398
00:21:14,940 --> 00:21:17,234
"Oh, separate schools are okay."
399
00:21:17,734 --> 00:21:19,152
Racism isn't dying out.
400
00:21:19,236 --> 00:21:21,571
It's just adapting in the current day.
401
00:21:21,655 --> 00:21:23,907
With something like a flag,
402
00:21:23,991 --> 00:21:26,994
people don't think
about multilevel meaning.
403
00:21:27,077 --> 00:21:29,663
They say,
"It means what I think it means."
404
00:21:29,746 --> 00:21:31,957
We should think about flags
405
00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:34,876
for how they trigger reactions in people.
406
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:39,881
Flags are a barometer
of where we are as a society.
407
00:21:40,465 --> 00:21:45,303
When our nation's fundamentals
of democracy are being attacked,
408
00:21:45,387 --> 00:21:48,098
people do stand behind their symbols.
409
00:21:49,016 --> 00:21:51,059
What's surprising is finding out
410
00:21:51,143 --> 00:21:54,104
which symbols exactly
people are standing behind.
411
00:21:54,855 --> 00:21:58,150
[Wiley] In South Africa,
many might say the same thing.
412
00:21:58,692 --> 00:22:01,028
There was a demonstration
413
00:22:01,111 --> 00:22:04,990
by predominantly white
right-wing movements
414
00:22:05,073 --> 00:22:08,327
where the old flag was shown.
415
00:22:08,410 --> 00:22:13,165
[Wiley] Sparking a national debate
and, in 2019, a historic court case.
416
00:22:13,248 --> 00:22:16,877
The Nelson Mandela Foundation
has asked a court to ban it,
417
00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:20,005
saying it represents hate
and racial discrimination.
418
00:22:20,088 --> 00:22:21,798
It's too much of a stretch to argue
419
00:22:21,882 --> 00:22:24,301
that it amounts to hate speech
to display the flag.
420
00:22:24,384 --> 00:22:25,802
[Wiley] But ultimately,
421
00:22:25,886 --> 00:22:28,221
Judge Mojapelo’s decision was clear.
422
00:22:28,305 --> 00:22:33,685
Any display of the old flag
constitutes hate speech
423
00:22:33,769 --> 00:22:38,065
in terms of section 10(1)
of the Equality Act.
424
00:22:38,148 --> 00:22:43,236
Our children can sit in the museum,
they can study, they can look at it.
425
00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:46,907
But it does not have to be
flown in the face
426
00:22:46,990 --> 00:22:49,368
of those to whom it is hurtful.
427
00:22:49,451 --> 00:22:51,161
[chanting]
428
00:22:52,287 --> 00:22:55,707
[Judge Mojapelo]
Flags are not cloths which are silent.
429
00:22:55,791 --> 00:22:58,335
It reflects our values.
430
00:22:58,418 --> 00:23:01,505
It reflects our aspirations.
431
00:23:01,588 --> 00:23:06,468
[Wiley] Back in 1995,
South Africa hosted the Rugby World Cup.
432
00:23:06,551 --> 00:23:08,470
It was the first major sporting event
433
00:23:08,553 --> 00:23:11,264
held in the country
since the end of apartheid.
434
00:23:12,432 --> 00:23:15,811
And in a stunning turn, South Africa won.
435
00:23:15,894 --> 00:23:17,938
[crowd cheering]
436
00:23:18,021 --> 00:23:21,566
[Wiley] Even the commentators recognized
it was more than a game.
437
00:23:21,650 --> 00:23:24,945
[commentator] A wonderful moment
for the whole of South Africa.
438
00:23:25,779 --> 00:23:28,782
Nelson Mandela is cheering along.
439
00:23:29,658 --> 00:23:31,034
A sea of flags.
440
00:23:31,118 --> 00:23:35,288
[Judge Mojapelo]
Embracing a predominantly white team,
441
00:23:35,372 --> 00:23:40,502
Nelson Mandela walked onto that pitch
to say under this flag,
442
00:23:40,585 --> 00:23:42,462
we can all feel united.
443
00:23:43,213 --> 00:23:48,343
And be as inclusive
as the flag calls upon us to be.
444
00:23:50,679 --> 00:23:53,056
[Leerssen]
The flag is a blank projecting screen,
445
00:23:53,140 --> 00:23:55,308
onto which everybody can project
446
00:23:55,392 --> 00:23:58,437
their own ideals,
their hopes, and their fears.
447
00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:00,397
Who owns patriotism?
448
00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:02,983
Who speaks for the nation?
449
00:24:03,066 --> 00:24:08,280
Who defines our identity
and what do we identify with?
450
00:24:08,363 --> 00:24:10,073
Whose streets? Our streets!
451
00:24:10,157 --> 00:24:14,536
[Judge Mojapelo] We did not overnight
become an equal society.
452
00:24:15,579 --> 00:24:19,457
We developed to what the flags represent.
453
00:24:28,633 --> 00:24:31,386
[closing theme music playing]