Katie Hargrave / Shadow States of States
Staking a claim with a flag, or perhaps claiming the flag, we hear politicians carve out "real" America. They decide which actions and beliefs are American and which are not. But the "real" America, the subtractive process which politicians are constantly battling, is a process which has been in the works since before this country was a country. There were drafts of the Declaration of Independence, choosing which word was more appropriate. Bigger than word choice, in building a nation, beliefs are molded and formed and philosophy is codified.
What is left? What's left are shadow states of states. There are 43 versions of the American flag. Each version represents a different nation. A state of a state. The 16 star flag, for instance, was flown over a public school house, the first time education and the flag were tied together, a tie that remained well into the 20th century, until the pledge began to be removed from schools. Shadow states of states are the leftovers, the things obscured, the bits of belief that were left out, good or bad, in deciding what America was to become. Versions within versions. Gun control. Women voting. Hawaii's statehood. These change the nation. But there are still things that lurk in the shadows, states of states that will never be seen. States that won't see the light of day. These range from the state of Franklin or the state of Lincoln, proposed secessions of the upper peninsula of Michigan or the panhandle of Idaho, to the political beliefs too far off the map to be understood in terms of blue and red. They're also political states, states of destruction, oppression. States of poverty, class warfare, indigenous land rights, and religious freedom that the United States of America can't seem to get a grip on within the 50 states. These are shadow states of states. And we have to continue to try to shine light on them.
