Disunity among the military is never talked about because they seem formed together and act as a single unit. The military tries to instill this unity in every soldier. However, disunity does occur and it may be the collapse of a military unit. This occurs because every soldier is able to decide for himself based on his beliefs and feelings. By looking at Flower Power, a photograph by Bernie Boston, the viewer is able to see how unity among a military unit is weakening. Although not the main message of the photograph this important minor feature many be overlooked but is depicting the strength a single individual can have over a group of others with more power.

The picture was taken in 1967 during a march on the Pentagon. People were protesting the Vietnam War. American people were frustrated with the war and were frustrated with its current path. This was the last major march on the Pentagon while protesting the war (Bernstein). The image depicts two groups of men. The more powerful group that seems to be controlling the others is roughly 15 military police. These men are standing on the left and topside of the group of unarmed men. They are all pointing guns at the second group of five men. Four of the five men are standing behind the fifth man. This fifth man seems to be the leader of the second group. This man can be seen as the leader because he is the only person acting out when the guns are pointed in the group's direction. He is placing flowers into the barrels of the military polices' guns. One of the military police in the top left corner is taking the flowers the unarmed man placed into the barrel of the gun out. The image directs the viewer's eye to the center of the photograph. This occurs because of the lines the guns create point towards the smaller group of men. After the attention is directed to the center it is turned towards the man placing flowers into the guns. This happens because he is contrasted with everyone else in the image. While the military police and the four other men are dressed in dark clothing the man is dressed in a light colored shirt. After noticing the man placing the flowers into the gun barrels the viewer follows his arm towards the gun barrels where one of the military figures is removing flowers from the guns.

If the viewer were to stop inspecting the image here they would only be able to receive a general idea of what is going on. The smaller group of men is protesting the Vietnam ar by placing flowers into the gun barrels of the military (Boston). This is correct but after looking deeper into the picture there reads a different story. After continuing up the military figures arm, the viewer notices something interesting. The face of the man seems to be confused and inquisitive. After seeing the military mans face, another face stands out behind his head. This face seems to be laughing. These two men's faces show the theme of deterioration of unity. The unity can be said that it is deteriorating because the military is supposed to seem as a single unit showing no emotion. The cause of these two men's departure from unity is the flowers the man is placing in the gun barrels. This is showing even the most minuscule object, such as a flower, can cause disunity amongst the military. This raises a major concern that if flowers can cause two soldiers to break their uniformity, a larger object such as a person giving a speech could have a much larger impact. Once noticing this small sign of disunity many more signs appear such as in the bottom of the image one of the soldiers is not wearing his helmet. Another sign in the picture of disunity comes not only from the soldiers but also from the protestors. All the protestors are facing the man placing the flowers into the guns except one who is looking in the other direction. This disunity just as the disunity of the military may make them seem weak and unorganized. This might possibly be why the one soldier is laughing while he should be serious.

The symbolism in this image also creates a strong effect on the unity. The soldiers in the image are representing oppression with their weapons and serious stature and uniformity with their uniforms and similar in the image. However, the man dressed in white represents peace or openness and freedom through the flowers. He is placing the flowers into the gun barrels because nature is meant to represent that untouched peaceful freedom. This openness and the flowers are a much smaller force than the uniformity and oppression in the image yet they are still having a direct effect on these two larger forces. The breakdown of the military and their stiffness is showing the power of a smaller individual or group of individuals on a more powerful group or idea.

The main purpose of the photograph was to convey the message of anti-war. While it is terrifying seeing people being threatened with guns, the power of the flowers creates a sense of tranquility. This is why the picture is called "Flower Power." Once the picture is thoroughly inspected many different issues such as disunity and protesting that were prevalent during this time arise. The disunity among the military is the least recognizable in the image but the most powerful piece. The disunity is represented through the different military men not being seen as a single unit but instead many different individuals.
