Earlier this month, Mississippi released thousands of proposed state flag designs for public viewing on the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) website — all of which included the phrase “In God We Trust” and none of which include the Confederate flag, as mandated by state legislators. People submitted nearly 3,000 designs for the open call, and there were definitely not a lack of hilarious options. 

As a tribute to these pieces of art, The Daily Mississippian’s summer staff members have each picked their favorites among the funny line-up.

Eliza’s pick:

To be honest, I loved this flag because I was completely confused by it. I was very intrigued by the artist’s decisions in creating it; to me, there is a certain je ne sais quoi quality that I just can’t get enough of. Absolutely nothing on this flag screamed “Mississippi.” It doesn’t even whisper it. We have pink and yellow, an unsightly color combination. We have ducks, which — if I’m not mistaken — we can’t hunt until November or December. Are the ducks trusting in God? It’s up to you to decide. Finally, we’ve got the very faint border around the ducks that doesn’t exactly match the background. Overall, this is a winner to me.

Billy’s pick:

If there were a God who is truly right and just, when the long summer sun sets on August 14 and the white smoke bellows from the chimney of the capitol building, this would have been our new flag. It bears the things most iconic about this beloved state: the magnolia flowers, a phrase that has unified this country since its insertion into the Pledge of Allegiance in World War II and a beast whose roar rings across the velvety, kudzu covered hills. This is the art that needs to stand before our businesses and homes.

Kelby’s pick:

I applaud whoever sent this in. It encapsulated Mississippi’s beauty and struggle so perfectly. Our biggest enemy here in the great state of Mississippi: a mosquito. Of course, I’d want this insect waving on my front porch or flying over every major state-building. I would have loved to be reminded of an itchy, uncomfortable feeling every time I see our flag. Honestly, this contender should have been taken more seriously. It represents what we, as Mississippians, struggle every day to overcome: bug bites.

Katherine’s pick:

The impeccable, flawless design of this flag made it the obvious choice to serve as the symbol of our great state. The genius use of emojis in this submission would have brought Mississippi into the 21st century in the eyes of the rest of the country. This is a flag that I think every Mississippian would have gotten behind and been a unifying representation of Mississippi as a whole.

Hadley’s pick:

Here, we have what was, in my opinion, one of the most thought-provoking submissions: a goofy Jesus statue, simultaneously winking, giving the thumbs up and pointing at onlookers with the required phrase scrawled across his chest. The likelihood that this “design” was submitted in jest is high, but it still really got me thinking: was the “designer” trying to make a point? Was he or she attempting to mock the state legislators for requiring “In God We Trust” to be included on the selected design? Is this flag silently calling for a stricter adherence to the separation of church and state? Is the “designer” nontheistic and deeply offended that a reference to God will be waved around Mississippi? Or, is the design simply meant for humor? Anyway, if you submitted this design, please email dmmanaging@gmail.com so that we can all get some answers.

James’s pick:

I felt the universe would not be in harmony if we did not talk about Mississippi football in this group of funny flags. There is an argument to be made that without the ruling about NCAA championships games, Mississippi’s flag would not have been voted out. This moment from the 2019 Egg Bowl nicknamed ‘Ole Piss’ is an all-time sports blunder; down by seven with less than 10 seconds to play, Ole Miss needed a touchdown and successful point after to tie and take the game to overtime, or a touchdown and a two point conversion to win the game. With the above celebration by Ole Miss wideout Elijah Moore resulting in a 15 yard penalty the two point conversion was no longer an option, and the kicker would end up missing the 35 yard extra point attempt. The ”In God We Trust” could be interrupted in multiple ways, but I like to view it as Lane Kiffin being referred to as God, and now with him at the helm, we can trust that this blunder will not be repeated.

Honorable mentions: