TAKEBACKTHEFLAG
Project for Flag Day, 2005
HELADA (Hellenic American Democratic Association), Athens, Greece
Click here to view the Slide Show.
Read on below for how it came about.
HELADA was, and though napping still is, an informal group of progressive Americans, Greeks and 3rd country Athenians that formed up after the John Kerry presidential loss in 2004.
In the beginning, HELADA's monthly get-togethers served as a focal point for issues of the day, while Dems Abroad seemed insular and less 'on point.' The group brought forward many who became Dem leaders and volunteers still active today as well as some of then-already active DAGR leaders. It lost membership as energy was shifted over to the revitalized Dems Abroad Greece committee in 2010. TakeBackTheFlag (TBTF) stands out as one of HELADA's 'concrete' artifacts.
In the early years of the Afghanistan-Iraq war, the neocons and rightwing hawks wrapped themselves in the American Flag. Like it only belonged to them. HELADAns begged to differ! And the project took shape.
At the time, it was still illegal in the US to show photos of flag-draped coffins being shipped back from Iraq. We got a picture and the photographer’s permission to include it.
At the time, "Lubricate the Red, White, and Blue" was being hummed by just a few folk-activist connoiseurs. Dana Lyons gave us leave to use his song in our display. Click on the link in the Harsh section to listen. The lyrics, like a 1998 PNAC web quote, were prescient!
The sections with Rationale and Resolve:
- The Making Of ... 11 June 2005 (live event, arts/crafts)
- The Flag We Grew Up With
- Harsh Realities - Wrongs and Rights
- Visions and Variations
The slide show was displayed on the HELADA website (no longer online), and is here, because on Flag Day 2025, along with the Law, Old Glory is being usurped again.
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