Ideas change everything

How flags unite (and divide) us

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Michael Green |

TEDxTAMUSalon

• November 2019

Flags are one of the simplest yet most powerful pieces of design ever conceived. They can make us swell with pride, burn with hatred -- and even inspire people to die or kill in their name, says vexillologist Michael Green. Take a brief walk through history as Green explores the symbolic fervor behind flags that unify and divide, inviting us to imagine a future where we can come together under one collective identity: humanity.

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Flags are one of the simplest yet most powerful pieces of design ever conceived. They can make us swell with pride, burn with hatred -- and even inspire people to die or kill in their name, says vexillologist Michael Green. Take a brief walk through history as Green explores the symbolic fervor behind flags that unify and divide, inviting us to imagine a future where we can come together under one collective identity: humanity.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxTAMUSalon, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

After giving my talk, I wanted to start flying more flags outside my house that brought humanity forward, ones that inspired. But as I shopped around, I couldn’t find any flags that I really loved. So I decided to start my own flag company.

About the speaker

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Michael Green designs and studies flags, and is fascinated about how we use them as symbols of personal identity and pride.

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxTAMUSalon, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

After giving my talk, I wanted to start flying more flags outside my house that brought humanity forward, ones that inspired. But as I shopped around, I couldn’t find any flags that I really loved. So I decided to start my own flag company.