After the Third World War, Elwyn B. White had a dream in which the survivors met to make a lasting peace — “the customary thing to do after a long exhausting war.”
There were eighty-three delegates, one from each country, and each delegate brought the flag of his country, except the delegate from China.
For he had discussed it with the other Chinese survivor, and they decided not to have a cloth flag any more. Instead, the Chinese delegate produced a shoebox and drew a living flower from it.
“What is that?” they all inquired.
“That is a wild flag, Iris tectorum. I propose that all countries adopt it, so that it will be impossible to insult each others’ flag.”
The Latvian delegate objected, “I don’t see how a strong foreign policy can be built around a wild flag that is the same for everybody.”
“It can’t be. That is one of the virtues of my little flag,” answered the Chinese.
Said the delegate from Patagonia, “I fear that the wild flag, one for all, will prove an unpopular idea.”
The Chinese delegate agreed, but argued in favor of sensible rather than popular action, considering there were 200 people left in the world. And with that, he produced 82 shoeboxes and presented a wild flag to each delegate.
The next day the delegates returned home, marveling at what they had accomplished in such a short time.