Flags won’t hoist or wave themselves, red flags doubly so, and they’re a useful determinant of which way the political winds are blowing, and whether they’re shifting.
Another movie from that same era I enjoy is The Pentagon Wars about the development of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. It’s one of the better made for TV movies I can remember.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard-bearer
And relatedly, to mix a metaphor, often a dog wags its tail, and it’s not unheard of the tail wagging the dog.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wag_the_dog