The Human Flag
The_Human_Flag
From the first rudimentary territorial markings to today’s top level Internet domains, humans have always sought to identify with flags. Flags can claim space, send a warning, celebrate a victory, denote ownership, and become a rallying point. Nations, corporations, schools and churches all have flags, but Leon Dale, an Atlanta photographer and designer, has recently created a special banner called The Human Flag.
“The flag is self-defining. It just is. Much as water just is. There’s no point arguing about it. The human flag has a handprint which is five fingers and a palm. I’m including the people without hands, but it’s a highly recognizable concept, any culture you meet will have people with five fingered hands. And the idea is that the human flag is for all humans.”
Leon had the idea for the human flag three years ago, and has since spent time looking for art to match his vision. When no artist came forward that could match it, Leon took paints in hand and did his own design: a ring of blue for the sky and water, a ring of green for the Earth, and the human symbol of the five-fingered hand.
To Leon, it’s a symbol of peace. “I wouldn’t want to see a human flag on the battlefield. Once it’s accepted, it’s the human flag and the only time it comes into question is if there’s other people who want to tear it down. I can only see it being used for self-defense against perhaps an extraterrestrial threat.”
What if someone raised a human flag in an area of devastation? Leon replies, “That would be dramatically important, if we raise a human flag at the sight of a disaster, don’t forget that they’re humans too, we’re all humans. In that situation, we should raise the flag over all the other flags, including the “money” flag. In Haiti, for instance, we should put aside our political problems and help them. Once you raise the human flag, it would be a powerful rallying point.”
It’s definitely a symbol of inclusiveness. “The human flag would not be welcome at a Ku Klux Klan rally, for example. Halliburton would not be interested in saluting the human flag. For those who hold hatred in their heart, we have to let them exist, leave them alone, and just understand that we’re all human. The symbol is just a symbol, but the idea behind the symbol is more powerful than that. Leon has copyrighted the symbol to protect it, to keep other people from trying to use it with a specific political purpose or bias.
“It’s a reminder that we’re all human. If we started each day with a small allegiance to the human flag, maybe we wouldn’t kill each other as much. We tend to omit our humanity. I think our birth certificates should all list us as human.”
If you are interested in learning more about the Human Flag, check out its Facebook page here. For more information about Leon Dale, check out http://leondale.com
Article written by: Sam Chupp
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