I’ve been thinking about why so many white Republicans have issues with the use of American patriotic symbols to show that as a nation, we have failed to live up to the values those symbols represent. I suspect that those symbols allow white folks to believe that they live in a society that rewards those values in the “market”. There is no proof for that theory based on the experience of this country. If you think we are the land of the free and home of the brave, there is nothing to do to be better. 

The idea that the USA was built by hard working white individuals doesn't match the truth that the foundation of the nation was literally built with race based slave labor. We have never had equal protection under the law. I'm sure that equality will be a social demotion for a lot of white folks. It is easier to defend unearned privileges than compete on a level playing field.