The Massachusetts state flag is on the endangered species list, figuratively speaking. In another example of political correctness at it’s silliest, a group composed of a few state legislators and some "Native American advocates" is pushing to get the state seal removed from the state flag.
The Massachusetts flag depicts a Native American holding a bow at his right side and an arrow at his left. A star symbolizing the colony of Massachusetts is above his right shoulder and above his head is an arm with a sword. A sentence in Latin explains the sword, "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty." The current flag has been the official Massachusetts flag since 1885, but the seal actually dates back to 1780.
One of the complaints (people like this can never stop at one complaint) is that the sword symbolizes violence towards the Native Americans. Only those who are bent on wiping out American history could come up with an argument like that. In 1780, when Massachusetts Governor and signer of the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock approved the seal, we were in the throes of the Revolutionary War. That the sword is in reference to our struggle against the British and not a threat of violence towards the Indians is something a child could decipher.
Without researching it further, I really don’t want to venture a guess at why a Native American appears as the central figure on the Massachusetts flag at a time when the people of that state were fully engaged in the desperate fight with the British. But I can tell you one thing for sure. The folks who are behind this effort aren’t concerned with that question. They are not about finding the truth. Their agenda is to rewrite history to diminish and demean the role of the white man. Period.
And at least one Massachusetts politician is in agreement. State Rep. Jeffrey Perry, R-Barnstable, had this to say, "In the name of political correctness, we have a tendency to rewrite history."