The Vexing Ways of Vexillologists

We have a new Minnesota state flag. Maybe.

That is, if the legislature doesn’t create a war over it and approves it. But we already know there will be calls for everything from restarting the whole flag-selection process to “what’s wrong with our old one?” The new unofficial flag can already be purchased.

You can say what you want about the old flag. It was always a complicated flag with way too much to comprehend, especially when viewing it on a 50-foot pole in front of government buildings, the few places to see it flying. 

When I studied the state flag in fifth grade, it looked like a poor drawing of a scene from a TV Western. And it didn’t take much imagination for me to see it as a barefoot white pioneer farmer warily watching his back for a spear-carrying American Indian crossing his plowed field. Armaments seemed intentionally visible. That may not be what the artist intended it to mean. But you relate new things to what you already know. In fifth grade I knew Westerns.

Too Much Minutiae

That scene, borrowed from the state seal, was surrounded by circular art that looks like it was drawn on a Spirograph. But the flag still had too much minutiae, making it difficult to decipher easily in fifth grade. I suppose they wanted to tell a story about the state. There have been a number of versions of the flag and of the scene.

The scene included a wreath made of the lady slipper state flower. It had three dates from the 1800s, the only meaningful one being the year we became a state, 1858. There are collectively 19 stars in small groups to indicate that Minnesota was the nineteenth state. Good to know. The top star is larger with some French words defining it as the “Star of the North” because we were the state that extended furthest north at the time. This phrase is our state motto, so remember it.

Being able to claim that Minnesota is the state furthest north in the continental U.S. seems like a marketing scam. But being the northernmost state just makes it sound colder. The actual story behind this area called the Northwest Angle is even better. You could look it up.

If marketing wasn’t a big thing with state flags when the current one was approved in 1957, it sure is now. A commission of real and wannabe vexillologists (flag experts) have weighed in on a new flag which must be simple and distinctive with limited images and little or no text. It must not be offensive in any way. It should include an identifier so we instantly know what state it represents.

Well, then, we might as well milk the North Star theme and include a big star that looks like a double-square eight-point Torx bit. Let’s put that star inside a big dark blue letter K in the likeness of a Kmart sign. Can you spot it? It’ll be our little secret that it’s meant to represent the shape of Minnesota. It simplifies the famous “Indianhead” border to a sharp 120-degree angle. Fortunately, a glimmering light blue brightens the whole right side of the flag.

If this flag means to tell a story, to me it is that we hope for clear blue skies (the right side) but we live on the dark side (left side) where we use a flashlight (star).

Change Is Everywhere

There is a cost with this change. Not only will every state flag need to be replaced, but anywhere its image is used. It’s even worse for the state seal, which also changed. The seal is used on law enforcement badges, shirt patches, brochures, business cards, stationery and more. The main feature on the new seal is a silhouette of a loon, probably as a consolation for not getting included on the new flag.

Now, after all this, ask yourself how many times you’ve really thought about the flag over the years. Do you even care? Despite my criticisms of both the old and new flags, I think it’s probably time to update it. Times change so flags maybe should, too. And remember, the net result could have been worse. Far worse. Take a look at some of the new flag entries.

So, let them change it. We don’t see the state flag very often but at least we’ll be able to recognize this one, even on a 50-foot pole. And almost anything is better than the old flag (and seal) depicting a controversial archaic scene. And it will be changed again someday. Maybe the blue colors or star will be found to be offensive.

We should be glad it’s just the state flag we’re dealing with and not the U.S. flag. What happens if we add one more state or a state divides in two? It could happen. Where does the additional star go?

I think it’s a bonus to be alive when our state flag is changed. I’ve lived through two now. But I probably won’t run out and buy the new one.