COLUMN: Treat the flag with respect
During the last couple of weeks, I’ve seen more flags flying than I’ve seen in the last 10 years combined. Old Glory is back with a vengeance, and that’s fine with me. What’s remarkable is not so much the sheer numbers of flags I see, but the creative ways in which their owners are choosing to display them.
I’ve seen flags in vehicles of every kind, stuck in windows, duct-taped to antennas even spray-painted onto one very patriotically-decorated minivan. They are hanging from every window, lamp pole, crane, tree and fence.
In fact, just today while sitting at the garage waiting for some repairs, I noticed a guy stumbling out of his house holding a beer in one hand and a wadded up flag in the other. He lurched to the sidewalk, turned, surveyed his yard and scratched his head. It took a minute for me to realize that he was trying to think of a good place to hang his patriotic prize. He debated for a long time before deciding to drape the flag over a chain link fence next to the road. It was so big the bottom slumped into the dirt.
This got me thinking back to my days in the Boy Scouts. Scouting taught me a great many things, including an understanding of and respect for the flag. I learned of its origins, what it stood for and how to handle it. I’ve forgotten much, but I still remember the basics – how to fold it, not to let it fly in the dark and definitely not to let it touch the ground.
Bothered by the idea of hanging a flag over a fence, I decided to brush up on my etiquette. What I discovered are some of the most complex and exhaustive rules I’ve ever seen. After an hour’s worth of reading I was decidedly intimidated – never wanting to touch another flag for fear of doing something wrong. For instance, did you know that according to www.ushistory.org “the flag of the United States of America, when it is displayed with another flag against a wall from crossed staffs, should be on the right, the flag’s own right (or the viewer’s left), and its staff should be in the front of the other flag’s staff.” I’ve read that sentence a dozen times and I’m still not certain what it means.
Etiquette aside, I still love this country and the red, white and blue emblem that has come to symbolize her greatness. All I need to do is drive around town to see these sentiments still put me squarely in the majority.
I suppose the most important thing is we love the flag enough to fly it. Still, it would be nice if we could all observe a modicum of respect when we handle it. After all, the flag is a symbol of everyone who has sacrificed to protect the liberty it stands for. And while I’ll never remember all the rules of flag etiquette, I, for one, will keep mine out of the dirt.