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Monday, March 21, 2022

A Tattered Flag #SOL22

Imagine...

political division in the United States

our country at war

disputes over illegal immigrants and border control

protests

tyranny

a federal identification card

enforced sanctions against states who don't follow the federal government's orders

interrupted food supplies

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash


Sounds like something we might read or hear about in our news today, doesn't it? But this is all part of the plot in the book Divided We Fall by Trent Reedy. The book was written in 2014, and little did he know when he wrote it just how real it would be. 

While reading this book, it was quite unnerving just how similar things are in our country today. It made me wonder what could happen.

Trent Reedy has become one of my favorite authors. Although this book is too mature for my 6th graders, it won't stop me from recommending it to others. The passage below is one that stuck with me.

"...this country is like its flag. When troubles hit the country like the weather on that flag, people got different ideas about how to fix that trouble. They start arguing about it. Folks getting madder and madder at one another, pulling apart in different directions, until, like that flag, there are little threadbare spots, small tears. Finally, something comes along that's too much, and those little worn spots rip open, leaving the flag, like this country, in tatters."

How can we mend the tears in the tattered flag, a tattered country?




 

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we 
share a slice of life during the month of March. 

1 comment:

  1. I am not so familiar with your setting, but as I was reading your slice, it struck me how the issues are similar to many parts of the world. At least many of the points you listed in the first part of your slice are similar to my setting. We are holding on to the peace and tolerance which may "mend tears in tattered flags".

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