Empathy is decreasing over time.

Social psychologist Sarah Konrath states that children spending time online and making connections there hinders their interpersonal empathy, due to a lack of in–person interactions. This lack of empathy can be belittling, even dehumanizing. Lack of empathy in teenagers can be reinforced by how we perceive flags today. Flags in our current political climate are used as tools for radicalization and nationalism, representing beliefs that are exclusive to a group of people.

For instance, the US flag can be turned into a symbol for white supremacy, excluding non-white Americans. Although the US flag can be perceived as a symbol of freedom, it also carries a history of enslavement and oppression against non-white people in the US. Therefore, people may feel a big disconnect with national flags because the flag doesn’t represent them and their values. However, this is not just an American occurrence. The UK is experiencing a similar divide, using the Union Jack and Saint George’s cross as symbols of anti-migration convictions.

Coats of arms, through heraldic beasts like lions or even chains (according to scholars), can be symbols of control and colonization. Through this perspective, coats of arms can be reminders of cultural trauma and the lasting effects of colonization. A lion, representing England, shows how a nation, city, family, will never escape the roots of colonization.

With these perspectives, flags and coats of arms seem to divide people rather than unite them. They seem to be tools for creating a society that lacks empathy as a lack of community prevents a true understanding of one another. But interestingly, we can reverse this perspective by looking at flags and coats of arms through a more objective lens.

With my project I want to shed light on flag families and flags / coats of arms that have niche symbols to show how we are all unified. By discussing the symbolisms behind specific symbols in flags / coats of arms, I help dispel the political connotations associated with them by “simplifying” symbols back to being associated with the stories of our ancestors. This provides a way to understand other people better through understanding cultural values and histories. Especially through flag families which contain flags with similar characteristics, we can find similarities between ourselves and thus relate to each other more.

My project helps strengthen empathy in teenagers by understanding cultural traumas like specific wars or losses, while also understanding the beauties nations have to offer.