Letter signers must be Lexington residents
Subject: Proposal for a Review Policy for Flag Orders on the Battle Green
Dear Select Board members:
We write to you as members of Lexington Alarm!, an organization founded to echo the Lexington Alarm of 1775, which rallied patriots at the grassroots level to support the Minutemen after the events of April 19. Today we are a group of concerned citizens who believe in an America where all people defend the rule of law and our constitutional rights when they are under attack, creating a society rooted in liberty, accountability, and justice.
Recently the flag on the Battle Green was lowered for Charlie Kirk, in response to a presidential order. Because there is no legal obligation for flags flown on municipally owned property to follow federal or state half-staff orders, we believe this moment calls for reflection on how Lexington responds to future such orders. The Battle Green is not just another parcel of municipal land; it is a national memorial, and the flag there resonates with history. But its unifying symbolism diminishes when used as a display of what many in our community experience as a partisan gesture.
By lowering it for Charlie Kirk and not for other prominent victims of political assassination, the town is participating in a move away from the nonpartisan characteristic of such honors.
We join with other Lexington residents cosigning below to ask the Board to consider a modest proposal to adopt a local review policy for future presidential flag orders as they apply specifically to the Green, in keeping with the understanding that the U.S. Flag Code (4 U.S.C. §§ 1–10) is advisory and not enforceable. We suggest that Town buildings could continue to follow national orders automatically, as is custom. But for the Green, any orders not within the guidelines laid out in Proclamation 3044, 19 Fed. Reg. 1235 (Feb. 12, 1954), reprinted in 3 C.F.R., 1954-1958 Comp., p. 4, would receive an additional layer of review. Orders not related to the death of “officials, former officials, or foreign dignitaries” would be subject to a brief process of panel review or community comment.
Such deliberation would signal that decisions made for the Battle Green are intentional, not automatic. This would not be an act of defiance, but one of deliberation, as should be accorded a place of distinctive importance.
This policy would affirm that the Green is different, a site of memory and symbol of liberty. It would also place our community’s values into the public record. Finally, it would indicate to residents that Lexington values thoughtful and transparent use of our shared symbols.
We hope you will use your authority in this positive matter.
Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
Lexington Alarm! And the community
