Hey, “Patriots!” How About Showing Some Real Respect For Your Flag?

There's Nothing Wrong With Displaying Your Love Of Country And Your Respect For Its Flag. Except When You Don't.

Newcomers to the United States are often impressed and/or mystified by the predominant presence of Old Glory on display seemingly everywhere they look. Indeed, I read of one foreign visitor who mistook an American fast-food joint for a post office because there was a big flag flying over the building. That's not to say that other nations don't take pride in showing off their national colors, but leave it to the Americans to “super-size” their patriotic fervor.

The Star-Spangled Banner that we all grew up to believe was the product of the mind and fingers of a Philadelphia upholsterer named Betsy Ross has been around since Revolutionary days. Not all historians agree on the Betsy Ross story and the flag itself underwent a lot of changes in those early days, but the banner that the Continental Congress approved on June 14, 1777 – the one described as consisting of “thirteen alternating stripes of red on white with thirteen white stars on a blue field” – wound up being pretty much the same as the one we see flying over post offices and fast food establishments today.

And in those early days, display of the flag was generally limited to military usage. As much as we like to think of those early American patriots as being flag wavers, they really weren't. They would have been as puzzled as the aforementioned foreign visitor to see flags flying from every home and business in the village. It wasn't until after the Civil War that displaying the flag became a “thing” and even then it was still pretty much limited to official and governmental use. Very few private homes owned or commonly displayed the American flag. No, it took the Communist “Red Scare” of the 1950s to really bring the old Red, White, and Blue to front porches across the land. Everybody was an unabashed patriot in those days and the preferred method of exhibiting that patriotism was to plant a flag somewhere on your property. And, of course, if you were a “super-patriot” you couldn't be satisfied with a common 3' x 5' flag. Oh, no! Bigger was better and soon the spectacle of flags the size of football fields streaming in the breeze over car dealerships became an everyday sight.

And that's all fine. Wonderful, in fact. There's nothing wrong with displaying your love of country and your respect for its flag. Except when you don't. And a whole lot of well-intended people don't.

See, there's this thing called a flag code. Did you know that one actually exists? Do you know what it says? If you're one of those people who leaves your flag out until it fades and tatters to shreds, I'll bet you don't. And I'm sure you know less than nothing about the flag code if you proudly wave an American flag that has been defaced by a silk-screened image of whatever social, political, or cultural icon or logo you find appealing. Or if you wear your flag as some sort of misguided fashion statement.

People have been disrespecting the flag for a long time. In fact, it was a reaction to the use of the flag on beer bottles and such in the late nineteenth century that first inspired the idea of a code of official guidelines for the display of the United States' flag. Early efforts on a federal level failed, so individual states took up the cause. In 1923, the Supreme Court ruled that state governments had the authority to ban desecration of the American flag and in that same year, under the auspices of the American Legion, the first rendering of a flag code came into being. By 1932, all forty-eight states had adopted flag desecration laws. On June 22, 1942, FDR signed the Federal Flag Code, which led to Congress enacting it into public law on December 22, 1942. Titled simply as The United States Flag Code, it has been updated and amended a couple of times since then, but remains substantively the same.

The Flag Code is an actual federal law, but, by design, it lacks any real provisions for enforcement, relying instead on voluntary customs and non-binding terms like “should” rather than “shall.” Unfortunately, that makes it a law with no teeth with which to bite the numerous miscreants who flaunt its provisions.

I've got a twenty-five-foot flagpole in my front yard and I've got a flagpole bracket attached to the front of the building that houses my office. I even have little American flag garden flags that I put out on occasion. Lots of my neighbors have flags on display, too. But there's a difference between me and most of them in that I actually pay attention to the condition of my flags and to the proper display thereof.

I am an admitted flag-nazi. (Oxymoron? Perhaps.) I'm the guy who calls your business and demands that you remove that tattered pink, beige, and periwinkle remnant of what was once a proud flag from the pole in front of your store and replace it. I'm the guy who once stopped in a driving rainstorm to lower a flag that had torn away from one of its grommets and was unceremoniously and disrespectfully streaming loose in the wind in front of a local store. I'm the guy that will let you know if your state or business flag is an inch bigger than your American flag and if it's flying a quarter of an inch higher. My flag means something to me beyond being an ostentatious bit of pseudo-patriotic décor that I tack up and forget about. Does that make me some kind of super-patriot? Nah. I'm just a guy who respects the flag and what it represents.

For instance, unlike my neighbors, I raise my flag briskly early every morning, weather permitting, and lower it, slowly and ceremoniously, around sunset every night. Wouldn't it be easier to just stick it up there and leave it out all the time? Yes. Would it be proper and respectful. No.

Now, the current revised Flag Code does make provisions for me to leave my flag up all the time. It says I can leave an “all-weather” flag up in the rain. Nowadays, of course, just about all flags are "all-weather," made of durable nylons and polyesters, unlike the all-cotton flags of my youth. But since I'm older than that revision, I still bring the flag down when bad weather threatens. And the Code also allows for a flag to remain on display after dark provided the flag is properly illuminated. I've got an array of solar floodlights around the base of my flagpole to cover me in case I'm not home at sunset, but I still prefer to lower the flag before dark. It's just me. Is it you, too, or do you prefer to let the symbol of your patriotism hang limp and wet in the dark?

I generally go through a couple of flags per year because I absolutely will not fly a flag that is the slightest bit faded or torn. Section 8k of the Flag Code states, “The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.” Man, if I had a dollar for every time I observed that provision being violated, I'd be incredibly rich. It saddens and disgusts me to drive around and see torn, tattered, faded rags hanging from the poles of some “patriot's” home or business. You want to be all “patriotic,” bubba? Then don't just hang your flag out until it rots and forget about it. Look up at it once in awhile. Remember it and what it stands for. And replace it when it needs to be replaced.

And if you're going to put on a patriotic show for your neighbors, don't display your flag in such a way that it drags the ground or comes in contact with trees, bushes, or what have you. Section 8 (b) says, “The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.” Which also eliminates using the flag as some sort of “patriotic” drape. That's what bunting is for. “The flag should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker's desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general.”

And then there's my neighbor down the road who, I guess, considers himself a “god over country” kind of guy. As such, he displays his “Christian flag” over the U.S. flag on the pole in his yard. The Flag Code clearly says: “Other flags should not overshadow the American Flag in any way. The American Flag should be flown higher than lesser flags. If state, local or society flags are flown on the same halyard with the American Flag, the American Flag should be at the top.” I once sicced the local American Legion on some little Bible-thumping church that committed the same offense. I was pleased to see the situation rectified soon thereafter.

There is one religious exemption allowed by the Flag Code: it is permissible for a Navy chaplain to fly a religious ensign higher than the US flag while conducting a religious service at sea. But it is a temporary exemption: after the service concludes, the US flag goes back to the top. Since neither the little church by the highway nor my neighbor's yard remotely resemble a naval vessel at sea......

And then there are the “patriots” who like to mix their patriotism with their favorite political party, candidate, or brand of motorcycle by emblazoning all kinds of dreck on the surface of the flag they display. Uh, no. The Code states, “The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.” That means that, no matter how devoted you are to your favorite candidate, it is a violation of federal law to silkscreen his name and/or image on an American flag! Same goes for your favorite brand of car or motorcycle. Or those kitschy things you buy at flea markets that have cowboys or Indians or soldiers or whatever emblazoned on them. It's your patriotic Second Amendment right to own a gun but it's a violation of federal law to have a picture of one printed on your flag.

Oh, and by the way, if you're showing your patriotism by wearing the flag, you're also displaying your disrespect for it. Section 8d is pretty straightforward: “The flag should never be used as wearing apparel.” It goes on to include bedding and drapery in that prohibition and adds that, “No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform.” So, obviously, if you're wearing all or part of an actual flag as an element of your ensemble, you're in direct violation of the code. Flag patches on uniforms, of course, are allowed, but not flags as uniforms.

And, technically, those cutesy “American flag” t-shirts, neckties, and boxer shorts you like to wear to “honor” patriotic holidays are also Flag Code no-nos. See, under Section 3: “The words 'flag, standard, colors, or ensign', as used herein, shall include any flag, standard, colors, ensign, or any picture or representation of either, or of any part or parts of either, made of any substance or represented on any substance, of any size evidently purporting to be either of said flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States of America or a picture or a representation of either, upon which shall be shown the colors, the stars and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or of any part or parts of either, by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag, colors, standard, or ensign of the United States of America.” So if you're wearing something that an “average person” would think represents the flag, you're breaking the law. Again, technically speaking, your t-shirt with an American flag proudly flying across its front or back is, according to the Code, an actual flag and should, therefore, be treated and disposed of properly. So do you patriotically burn your flag t-shirt or do you just turn it into a rag with which to wash your car?

And speaking, as I was in the previous paragraph, of patriotic holidays, how about all that nifty, patriotic stuff you have around for the Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day festivities? Paper plates, cups, and napkins all adorned with the image of Old Glory. How stirringly patriotic! Except for Section 8i of the Flag Code which reads, “The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever.” The same section goes on to say, “It should not be printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard.” In other words, although it may seem festive and patriotic, it's somewhat disrespectful to crumple up and throw soiled representations of your flag in the trash.

Oh, and that stirringly patriotic moment when your team's band or pep squad stretches the Stars and Stripes out across the football field? Sorry, not so much. Section 8c of the Flag Code reads: The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free.”

Speaking on Flag Day (June 14) 1915, Woodrow Wilson said, “The things that the flag stands for were created by the experiences of a great people. Everything that it stands for was written by their lives. The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history. It represents the experiences made by men and women, the experiences of those who do and live under that flag.” There's nothing in that speech that represents the flag as a trivial patriotic decoration.

I've got a great book I picked up years ago entitled, “The Care and Display of the American Flag.” It was printed in 2004 by the editors of Sharpman.com and is probably the best and most comprehensive guide to flag etiquette I've seen. The American Legion offers a PDF of the Flag Code online at https://www.legion.org/documents/legion/pdf/flagcode_07.pdf. And there are tons of other resources available to assist and educate people in honoring the American symbol that the Flag Code itself describes by stating, “The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing.’’ If you really consider yourself to be a patriotic person, shouldn't you take better care of the “living thing” that informs your ideal?