The flag of pride Or the flag of shame Robert Reich Aug 1 Friends, I want to contrast two displays of the American flag. One occurred today when Simone Biles and Suni Lee paraded it at the Paris Summer Games, as the Americans reclaimed the Olympic title. (The American team had won silver in Tokyo.) Biles made history by winning the gold in the individual all-around individual final at the Games — becoming just the third woman after Larisa Latynina in 1956 and 1960, and Věra Čáslavská in 1964 and 1968, to win the women's individual all-around twice. After Biles learned that she had won, she waved to a crowd that chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!” Lee, the all-around champion in Tokyo, won the bronze. She put up amazing routines on bars and floor to secure an Olympic all-around medal for the second-straight Olympics. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won the silver medal, finishing 1.199 points behind Biles’s total. These were individual achievements, to be sure, but they also marked extraordinary team victories. Lee credited Biles with helping her get through the night. Team USA won gold Tuesday in the team competition, kicking off its "redemption tour.” Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles competed in all four events. Suni Lee did bars, beam and floor. Jade Carey competed on vault. Olympic newcomer Hezly Rivera didn't compete but still earned a medal. These young women represent the best of America. They overcame adversity with resilience. They supported one another. They sought the gold with ambition and joy. They reflect our nation’s proud diversity. I don’t want to push the analogy more than it deserves, but I also see in their achievement what has suddenly happened to American politics — the remarkable outpouring of support for Kamala Harris, her determination and joyfulness, and refusal to play into Trump’s racial and ethnic bigotry. Which brings me to the other American flag that’s been in the news. You will recognize it — the upside-down flag that flew in front of Justice Samuel Alito’s two homes. Justice Alito’s wife in 2021 explained the upside-down flag on her lawn as “an international signal of distress … [but] what’s happened is it shifted from that to an expression of outrage — a signal to say, 'America has abrogated its own principles and values and I am sending a signal that I disagree' or 'I see this as a violation of American values.' ” The American flag carried by Biles and Lee today is a symbol of pride in an America that fosters equal opportunity for extraordinary achievement. The flag flown upside down in front of the Alito’s home is a symbol of shame — including, now, the shame in Alito’s refusal to recuse himself from the Trump immunity case. Pride and shame. Both are in play. Both are competing for the future. So glad you can be here today. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber of this community so we can do even more.