I walked past this pair of houses today that almost looked like they could have been a photo illustration of the Two Americas. A very traditional looking house with an American flag and bunting that looks like it could have been at the 1948 Republican convention. On the right, the garden grows a little freer and a pride flag flies. I see examples of both types of houses all over my town. There are also Black Lives Matter flags and ones honouring veterans. I wonder sometimes if the flags ever make neighbours uneasy. There are very few overt displays of party loyalty, though thankfully. There was one house that used to fly a UN flag and a rotating cast of other international flags. I liked that. The US is probably the most flag-waving country around. Expressing individual identity is what the country was founded one, but there have always been a million caveats to its supposed freedom-loving. Express the wrong kind of individuality too loudly and there will be trouble. The fact that so many people of all stripes feel like they have to shout their personal allegiances is symptomatic of something too. Sometimes freedom means never having to say what you think.