Witness the world's most famous and most visible flag, the Stars and Stripes. Even before the resurgent swell of patriotic expression that followed September 11 there was hardly a place where Betsy Ross'creation was not on view where Americans lived, worked or competed. Most people know that the stars stand for the number of states in the union, and the stripes for the original 13 colonies, the colurs borrowed from the Union Jack. And although flag-waving in the USA has reduced much of the ceremonial impact that flags are intended to have on special occassion, no one would deny, that the Americans take their national colours seriously.
The countdown to next month's Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games is firmly in place. As we well know, the flags of all nations participating in this international sporting event will be represented in the Parade of Nations both in the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as raised above the podium to honour the medal winning athletes and their countries. Although the US is notorious for its American-centered media coverage of such events, it is interesting to note what they know and say about the symbols of other competing countries.
To this end it was startling to notice the relative degree of ignorance expressed by CBS on their sportsline web site (Visit www.cbssportlsine.com/olympics/paradeofnations/Estonia
One wonders where the information was garnered, for, although there is some truth to the explanation of the significance of the Estonian blue black-and white tricolour, the total package is wrong.
The Estonian Flag song "Eesti Lipp", sung by all schoolchildren from an early age tells us that the blue stands for the Estonian sky, black for the nurturing soil, as well as the traditional cloak that covers Estonians ("kuub mis Eesti rinda varjanud").
Whatever their source of information, a wag may suggest here that we are lucky. The head of the Estonian IOC, rewarded for his tenure during Communist rule, is Arnold Green. Fortunately that colur is not on our flag, who knows what the explanation might have been then, knowing the IOC's predilection for self-aggrandizement...
However, explanation of nataional symbolism in this way in the land of the Star Spangled Banner rings a discordant note. A small nation can assert itself internationally on the diplomatic and sporting stage by success, measured in this case by the raising of the flag above the victory podium, as happened in Sydney with Erki Nool's gold medal win in the decathlon. Estonia has a number of winter athletes, most notably in cross-country skiing that are world class, and realistic challengers for medals. Let us hope that we see our flag wave in the breezes blowing across Utah's victory podium next month, reminding the world that we belong, and can compete with the best of them.
TÕNU NAELAPEA