During the American Revolution, the Gadsden Flag was adopted as a sign of defiance against the British. It's very recognizable, with its yellow background, rattlesnake, and the words DON'T TREAD ON ME on it. The Culpeper Minutemen adopted their own version of the flag, which was white rather than yellow and had the words LIBERTY OR DEATH added to it.

More recently, the Gadsden Flag has been adopted by the modern freedom movement. It's seen at nonpartisan protests and the Tea Party tax protests all over the US now. The main message behind it seems to be that the government is failing miserably at its job, has repeatedly overstepped its authority and abused its power, and that both the Democrats AND Republicans are part of the problem.

But let's not get into all that. I don't want to talk politics, especially when they're as complicated as the current issues.

Let's talk about the symbology of the Gadsden Flag.

The yellow color is interesting. You don't see it on very many flags, perhaps because of the western association of the color yellow with cowardice. At sea, yellow is used to indicate that there is an infectious disease aboard the ship and that no one should approach it. In nature, yellow is used to indicate "don't f*** with me" because the creature is either venomous or is disguised as a venomous creature. It's a warning to stay away. I believe it this reason that the color yellow was selected; it's highly visible, and it goes with the venomous rattlesnake in the center of the flag.

The rattlesnake itself is the perfect symbol of the freedom movement. The rattlesnake does not seek out confrontation; it just wants to be left alone. And really, isn't that what our forefathers, and most of the modern Tea Party protesters want? To be left alone by a government they see as being increasingly oppressive? The rattlesnake doesn't attack someone without good reason; it only attacks when it is threatened. The rattlesnake warns you to back off and leave it alone by making a loud buzzing sound with its tail; rarely will it attack without giving warning first. Finally, if someone ignores the warning and insists on molesting the snake... he gets bit.

As far as animal avatars for a political philosophy go, the rattlesnake is as close to being the perfect symbol as I have ever seen.

Finally, of course, there are the words DON'T TREAD ON ME. Well, obviously, you wouldn't want to step on a rattlesnake. You'd get bit. Seems simple enough. However, the phrase is also related to the latin phrase "Nemo Me Impune Lacessit", which means "none harm me with impunity". Back in the day, just about everybody studied latin, and many had only a passing familiarity with the language, so it was often mistranslated as "none tread on me with impunity" when used for family crests and such. The meaning of the phrase is clear: "screw with me, and you're going to regret it". It's interesting to see how the phrase ties in not only with the obvious meaning of "don't step on snakes" and the culture of the period in which it was adopted.

Of course, the Culpeper Minutemen version of the flag also features the words LIBERTY OR DEATH, which was an alternate version of the equally popular LIVE FREE OR DIE slogan of the time. The meaning is clear, but I think Winston Churchill said it best:

"If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed, if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case:you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves."