Print
Celebrate the Flag? Sure. But Which One?
Tomorrow (June 14) is Flag Day in the United States—a day to salute Old Glory and historically pledge allegiance.
My family and I have always been patriotic, not only in thought and word but also in deed. Relatives have fought in the War For Independence against the Brits, the First and Second World Wars, as well as Korea. My dad, as a Navy photographer, did reconnaissance missions over Soviet missile installations during the Cold War. Lots of commitment.
Further, I’ve taught my kids to always take their hats off when the flag goes by during parades. So please don’t mistake what I’m about to say for anything less than a love of this Country.
But maybe we should call tomorrow… False Flag Day… as the opportunity for a genuine “false flag” is presenting itself. Look, as I said, I’m a flag lover and a patriot to the end. But honest reflection of how sinful men and governments, ours included, have gone the extra mile to justify everything from colonial shenanigans to CIA coups to full-blown wars.
Yep, behind the parades and even protests often lies a darker tradition: creating an illusion to ignite the right kind of fear. This, of course, is not limited to the United States, nor is it limited to modern times. But few of these heinous activities are in our history books.
The Original Costume Drama: Flags of Deceit on the High Seas
Long before psyops, there were pirates. Swashbuckling psychopaths who flew enemy flags to sneak up close, then unleashed hell at point-blank range. The rules—if you could call them that—said you had to raise your real flag before firing. But by then, the other ship was already dead in the water.
This naval trickery was so effective that entire governments started doing it. Nations pretended to be someone else, then struck fast and blamed the blood on their enemies. That’s not a metaphor—it’s how modern false flag operations were born.
Industrial Lies and Wartime Theater
USS Maine (1898)
A ship explodes. The papers scream “Remember the Maine!” and suddenly the U.S. is at war with Spain. Later evidence points to an internal fire—not sabotage—but by then, the empire had new colonies and new markets. Mission accomplished.
Mukden Incident (1931)
Japan bombs its own railroad in Manchuria, blames the Chinese, and invades. The League of Nations investigates, points fingers—and Japan quits the League like a teenager slamming a bedroom door. They didn’t need approval. They had a false flag and an army.
Reichstag Fire (1933)
The German parliament burns. A communist is blamed. Hitler tightens the noose, silences dissent, and starts building concentration camps. Historians still argue about who lit the match, but make no mistake—this was political arson with a purpose.
Gleiwitz Incident (1939)
SS agents stage a fake Polish attack on a German radio station. They leave behind corpses in Polish uniforms, rigged like a low-budget horror film. The next morning, Hitler justifies the invasion of Poland. The world goes to war.
Winter War (1939)
The Soviets shell their own village of Mainila and scream that Finland did it. When Finland begs for a neutral investigation, Stalin sends tanks instead. False flag, red star, iron fist.
Cold War Black Magic and CIA Smoke Bombs
TPAJAX (1953)
In Iran, the CIA whips up fake communist riots, blames them on the left, and tips over the democratically elected government. In its place? A U.S.-backed dictator. They called it “stabilization.” The locals called it treason.
Operation Northwoods (1962)
This one chills the bones. U.S. military brass proposed staging terror attacks in American cities—bombs, fake funerals, hijacked planes—all to pin the blame on Cuba. The plan reached JFK’s desk. He said no. A year later, he was dead. Make of that what you will.
Gulf of Tonkin (1964)
The war in Vietnam needed a spark. So when sonar glitches and shadows in the water were reported as attacks, Washington lit the fuse. Decades later, the truth came out: at least one of the “attacks” never happened. But the war? Oh, that was real.
The Digital Age of Deception
Russia’s Greatest Hits
From shelling their own people in 1939 to hacking elections, the Soviets had mastered the modern false flag. Deepfakes, cyberattacks, fabricated “atrocities”—all blamed on the other guy. For Communists, especially, the truth is irrelevant. Perception wins wars.
And let’s not kid ourselves—other governments play the game too. False flags aren’t rare—they’re policy tools. The question isn’t if they’re used. It’s how often and how big the lie needs to be.
Is June 14th Going To Be “False Flag Day?”
Wave your flag on Flag Day. I certainly will. But tell your kids and grandkids the truth. Evil men do evil things. Sin is real and real in politics too. To keep our country free… we must acknowledge history’s deceptions, even if it hurts. We all need to remember how easy it is to sell war with a single well-placed lie and stage event.
I’m still gonna call it Flag Day. But you should think of tomorrow as a potential “False Flag Day,” a time to remember not just the fabric, but the possibility for theatre and fiction.
We should honor our country and its flag. But we should also consider the victims of deception, and that means those who lost their lives fighting for what was a lie.
Be prepared to question the next explosion, the next outrage, the next conveniently timed crisis. Because if history teaches anything, it’s that the loudest calls for anarchy or war often come from the same mouths that staged the tragedy in the first place.
Bottom line: Don’t be deceived. We live in dangerously sinful times.
