1 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In 1989, 2 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 an artist by the name of Dread Scott, 3 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 who has also graced the TED stage, 4 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 created a piece of art in Chicago 5 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 where he simply placed an American flag on the ground 6 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and then invited you the viewer to go and stand on that flag 7 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and record how it felt in a journal. 8 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And to me, one of the most powerful things written in that journal in essence says, 9 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 why are we so OK 10 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with homeless people, 11 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with human beings laying on the ground, 12 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but not flags? 13 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And to some of you, this piece of art is quite disturbing, 14 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and that's kind of the point of this talk, 15 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not to upset you or to make you mad 16 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but to prove to you that flags have an incredible power, 17 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and that even if you think you don't care about flags, you do. 18 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You know you do. 19 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 All right. 20 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 By the end of it, I hope that you're inspired 21 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to go out and harness this power of flags and fight for a better world, 22 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but before we get there, 23 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 we're going to start on the opposite end of the spectrum, 24 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and before I show you the next stuff, I need to say that anything I show here 25 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is not an endorsement, 26 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it's usually quite the opposite, 27 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but more than anything, what I want to do is create a space here 28 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 where we can look at these flags, these designs, 29 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and examine how they make us feel. 30 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We're going to talk about our emotions. 31 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Is that OK with everybody? 32 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 OK. 33 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You ready for your first flag? 34 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Cool, we'll start with an easy one. 35 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That was a joke. 36 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, some of you may be a little bit uneasy sitting in a room with this. 37 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I'm certainly feeling uneasy standing in front of it. 38 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Some of you may be feeling a little bit of pride. 39 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And that's understandable. This is Texas. This is not a rare sight, is it. 40 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But let's start with the facts. 41 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So this is not the Confederate flag. OK? 42 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia 43 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 led by General Robert E. Lee, 44 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so next time someone tells you that this is their heritage, 45 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 unless their family fought for that very specific militia, 46 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they're wrong. All right? 47 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And you have a flag expert's permission to tell them so. 48 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This flag rose into prominence during the mid-1950s and '60s 49 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 as a response to the growing Civil Rights Movement. 50 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then, of course, today 51 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it has come to represent the Confederacy to most of us. 52 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But I shouldn't have to remind you what the Confederacy is. 53 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It was a rogue nation 54 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that rose up against the United States, 55 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 waged war on the US, 56 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and at one point in time 57 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this was one of the most un-American things you could have. 58 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But yet, this flag is protected 59 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 by the same laws that protect the United States flag 60 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in the states of Florida, Georgia, 61 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 South Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana. 62 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But let's pick on Georgia for a second, shall we? 63 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So in 1956, 64 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a few years after desegregation was mandated in public schools, 65 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Georgia changed their state flag to this. 66 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I think everyone watching can agree 67 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that this was not meant to be a flag that every Georgian was proud to fly 68 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 outside of their home, was it. 69 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Just like all of the Confederate statues erected in the mid-1950s and '60s, 70 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this was meant to be a symbol of who was in charge 71 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and who was not. 72 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This remained the flag of Georgia 73 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 until the year 2001, 74 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and in that year they changed their flag 75 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to this. 76 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Now, as a flag expert, I can tell you this is officially ugly. 77 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 OK? It's OK to laugh at this flag. 78 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's ugly, and because it's so ugly, 79 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that's one of the reasons they changed it just two years later. 80 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They had a referendum 81 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 where they got to choose between that thing 82 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and then what is now the current flag of Georgia. 83 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Now some of you might be wondering, 84 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 wait a second, Michael, 85 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 if that before wasn't the Confederate flag, 86 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what was the Confederate flag? 87 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Georgia flies the first flag of the Confederate States of America 88 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to this day. 89 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They just slapped their state seal on it. 90 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Well let's go back to our emotions for a second. 91 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That didn't punch you in the gut as much as the other one did, did it. 92 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Right? 93 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And that's why I love flags. 94 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They are the simplest pieces of design, 95 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 usually just two or three colors, 96 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 just some bars or stripes, 97 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but yet they can invoke the deepest emotions within us. 98 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They'll make us swell with pride or burn with hatred. 99 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We will die for a flag 100 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or even kill for one. 101 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of my favorite designers, his name is Wally Olins, 102 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they call him the father of nation branding, 103 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and he's quotes as saying 104 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that everyone wants to belong, 105 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and then they want to display symbols of belonging. 106 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And it's crazy that these pieces of cloth that are just sewn together or dyed 107 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 come to be such a sacred item, 108 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and that's because they become parts of our identity. 109 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They are powerful tools to unify 110 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but equally powerful tools to divide. 111 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You ready for the next flag? 112 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Right. 113 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Take a moment. 114 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Really examine how you felt when this hit the screen. 115 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I'm going to change the slide pretty quickly 116 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so you don't take pictures of me in front of this one. 117 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 All right? 118 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So Germany after World War I, 119 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it was in a pretty bad state, 120 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and a young Adolf Hitler had a lot of, let's call them ideas, 121 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of how Germany got to where they'd gotten 122 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and how to get them out. 123 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He spent entire chapters in his book "Mein Kampf," 124 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 which I don't recommend reading, 125 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 about how Germany lost World War I 126 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 partially because the British had better graphic design 127 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and better propaganda. 128 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, as the Nazi Party rose, 129 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Hitler created one of the thickest brand guides I've ever seen. 130 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's thicker than most company brand guides today, 131 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and in it he details titles and uniforms 132 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and lots and lots of flags. 133 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Hitler knew the power of flags. 134 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He says in "Mein Kampf," 135 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "The new flag... should prove effective as a large poster," 136 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because "in hundreds of thousands of cases 137 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a really striking emblem 138 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 may be the first cause of awakening interest in a movement." 139 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He was an artist, after all. 140 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He knew the power of visual identity and uniforms 141 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 could reignite the German identity. 142 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And to millions of Germans this was a welcome sign. 143 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But of course this was a mark of death to others. 144 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We don't often think of flags as weapons, 145 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but like the Confederate battle flag, 146 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Germans used their flag 147 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to make an outgroup feel unwelcome 148 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and less than. 149 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You see, when you create a flag, you immediately do two things. 150 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You create an ingroup, 151 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a group that's meant to be represented by the symbol, 152 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but then inevitably you create an outgroup. 153 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And usually that's subtle. 154 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's a byproduct. 155 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's usually not the intent. 156 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But the Germans were very clear as to who was represented by the swastika 157 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and who was not. 158 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In 1935, Jewish people were banned from flying German flags. 159 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And in this way, 160 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Germans, maybe more than any other time in history, 161 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 used the dual power of flags 162 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to unite but also to divide. 163 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Flags were used as identity weapons. 164 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And now, in 2019, the Nazi flag is banned from being flown 165 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 by anyone in Germany, 166 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and anyone in Austria, in Hungary, in Russia and in Ukraine. 167 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Think about that. 168 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's a piece of cloth, but it's banned. 169 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 On its face, that sounds crazy, 170 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but I don't think anyone in this room would disagree 171 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that it's probably good. 172 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Sounds a lot like a weapon. 173 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 As a vexillologist, 174 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 sometimes the most interesting thing about a flag 175 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is not so much its design, 176 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but it's those laws around the flag. 177 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For instance, 178 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in India, to create an Indian flag, 179 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you must use a hand-spun cloth named Khadi. 180 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If you make a flag out of anything else, 181 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you could go to jail for up to three years. 182 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's crazy. 183 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Here in Texas, 184 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 we've all heard 185 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that the Texas flag is the only state flag that can fly at the same height 186 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 as the US, flag, right? 187 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because we were a nation before we were a state. 188 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Who here has heard that? 189 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Yeah. 190 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Well, I'm here to tell you that is completely false. OK? 191 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 First of all, we were not the only state that was a nation before joining up, 192 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and secondly, all state flags can fly at the same height as the US flag 193 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 according to the US flag code. 194 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I don't have to ask you how you feel about this one, right? 195 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Most of us grew up pledging allegiance to this every morning, 196 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 knowing we should never let it touch the ground, etc. 197 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We take our flag code very seriously here in the United States. 198 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You remember, recently some NFL players kneeling during the national anthem. 199 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It was a big controversy. 200 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They were breaking the flag code. 201 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It states during the national anthem, 202 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 stand at attention, hand at the heart, etc. 203 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But what was fascinating to me as a vexillologist is that I didn't see 204 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 anyone getting upset 205 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 when something like this happens. 206 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The flag code says the flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, 207 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but always aloft and free. 208 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So sometimes during the exact same national anthem, 209 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this was being done and no one's upset. 210 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Or this. This happens all the time. 211 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The flag code is clear. 212 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or on an athletic uniform. 213 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is Texas A&M baseball, 214 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not to get them in trouble, but this happens all the time, 215 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 especially in November. 216 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I'm sure, I can almost guarantee when you leave here tonight, 217 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you will see on the back of someone's car or truck 218 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a black and white American flag with a blue stripe, 219 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a thin blue line, right? 220 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Blue Lives Matter. 221 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That breaks the flag code in multiple ways, 222 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but all of these things are done with the best intent. 223 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 No one's here to argue that. 224 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But of course they break a section of the flag code 225 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 titled "Respect for the Flag," 226 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so by putting this on your uniform, 227 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you are legally disrespecting the flag. 228 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And what I find interesting 229 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is that those NFL players kneeling during the anthem 230 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and the people who would put Blue Lives Matters stickers on their car 231 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 are both on the opposite end of a very big issue, 232 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but they're both breaking the exact same law, 233 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a law that is 100 percent unenforceable. 234 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In fact, it was Dread Scott's piece of art in 1989 235 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that led the Supreme Court to rule that the flag code is just a guideline. 236 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You cannot be prosecuted for breaking the flag code. 237 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You cannot be forced to be patriotic. 238 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So why, then, have all of these little laws around how we use our flag 239 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 if you can't enforce them? 240 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And that's because a nation 241 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is a fragile collective idea. 242 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It only exists in our minds. 243 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 See this? Thank you. 244 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Sometimes a flag is the only tangible symbol of that idea. 245 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Right? Our unity is sometimes only held together by literal threads. 246 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And that's powerful. 247 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The flag code is meant to preserve and protect that fragile idea, 248 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 while also protecting your right to break it. 249 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And that's what's special about the United States, right? 250 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And that's what's unique about our flag. 251 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Our flag is amazing. 252 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It has changed more than any other flag in the world. 253 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's the flag code that says when a new state is created, 254 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a star shall be added to the union of the flag, 255 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and such addition shall take place on the fourth day of July. 256 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Our flag is unique because it is meant to grow as we grow. 257 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 By design and by law, 258 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it is meant to change with us. 259 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's a living symbol of our individuality, 260 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 our diversity in the stars, 261 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and our unity. 262 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We have a gift in the United States to have a flag that is inclusive. 263 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If the Nazi flag was an identity weapon, 264 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the United States flag, by design alone, stands in direct contrast. 265 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I have to say, as a vexillologist in 2019, 266 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 using this flag 267 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 as an identity weapon against anyone 268 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 disrespects it far more than letting it touch the ground 269 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or any one of the other little laws that we break every day. 270 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Right? 271 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This flag is a symbol of our union. 272 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We should never use this as a weapon against someone else. 273 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I resonate so deeply with the person who wrote in Dread Scott's journal, 274 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "We should never value the symbol over the thing that it symbolizes. 275 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We should never value a piece of cloth over a human life." 276 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And if you're ever going to use a piece of cloth as a weapon, 277 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you should never use this one, 278 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not when it has always had room for more stars. 279 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Hopefully by now, you've felt the power of flags 280 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and you can see what they can do. 281 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So what if we harnessed that power 282 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and we used it to fight for something greater? 283 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is the flag of Earth, 284 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 designed by Oskar Pernefeldt of Sweden. 285 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Just imagine with me for a second, 286 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what if we celebrated our humanity 287 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 as much if not more 288 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 than we celebrate our nationalities? 289 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 As we become a spacefaring civilization and we go off into the stars, 290 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what do our nations mean anyway when you're standing 291 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 on the surface of Mars or any other planet? 292 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then of course, back here on Earth, 293 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 as our planet is facing a climate crisis, 294 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 as our climate could be unlivable in our children or grandchildren's lifetime, 295 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I believe we need a strong symbol, a flag, 296 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to unite us to fight, 297 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not just as nations, 298 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but as a species. 299 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Thank you. 300 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Applause)