Fireworks on the Mall, Washington, D.C.
July 4, 2006
Iwo Jima Memorial in the foreground; Washington Monument in background
Have a glorious Independence Day
July 4, 2008
1 Comment | 
Flag ceremony, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Patriotism | Tagged: Flag etiquette, Fourth of July, Patriotism | 
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Posted by Ed Darrell
Independence Day! Fly your flag
July 3, 2008
Remember to fly the flag on July 4, 2008, the 232nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. (Postcard above, from 1907, from collection of James R. Heintze)
Flags may be flown sun-up to sun-down. The U.S. flag should be run up the pole quickly, and be left to fly unfettered in the breeze. The flag may be left flying after sundown, if it is lighted.
Resources:
Leave a Comment » | Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Freedom - Political, History, History and art, History images, Patriotism | Tagged: Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Fourht of July, Fourth of July, History, Patriotism | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
June 14 – Flag Day
June 14, 2008Did you fly your flag today? Even without my reminding you? Good!
Painting by Norman Rockwell, Scout saluting the flag.
- Dates to fly the flag (every day is okay; at night is okay, too, if you light the flag)
- Rick Monday saved the American flag
Leave a Comment » | Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Patriotism | Tagged: flag, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Patriotism | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
D-Day, 1944
June 6, 2008
Got an e-mail with a question.
Today is the 64th anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy in World War II, a date generally called D-Day. No, you don’t have to fly your flag. This is not one of the days designated by Congress for flag-flying.
But you may, and probably, you should.
5 Comments | Famous Battles, Flag etiquette, History, War, World War II | Tagged: D-Day, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag, History | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Memorial Day, 2008 – fly your flag in honor of our nation’s dead
May 26, 2008(Much of this is reprise from Memorial Day 2007)
You may fly your flag the entire weekend. Please fly your flag today.
Memorial Day, traditionally observed on May 30, now observed the last Monday in May, is a day to honor fallen veterans of wars. Traditionally, family members visit the cemetery where loved ones are interred and leave flowers on the grave.
On Memorial Day itself, flags on poles or masts should be flown at half-staff from sunrise to noon. At noon, flags should be raised to full-staff position.
When posting a flag at half-staff, the flag should be raised to the full-staff position first, with vigor, then slowly lowered to half-staff; when retiring a flag posted at half-staff, it should be raised to the full staff position first, with vigor, and then be slowly lowered. Some people attach black streamers to stationary flags, though this is not officially recognized by the U.S. Flag Code.
Got another week of school? Here’s a quiz about the history of Memorial Day that might make a warm-up, provided by Carolyn Abell writing in the Tifton (Georgia) Gazette:
1. Memorial Day was first officially proclaimed by a general officer. His name was: A. Robert E. Lee; B. John A. Logan; C. Douglas MacArthur D. George Washington.
2. The first state to officially recognize Memorial Day was A. Virginia; B. Rhode Island; C. New York; D. Georgia.
3. The use of poppies to commemorate Memorial Day started in A. 1870 B. 1915 C. 1948; D. 1967.
4. The original date of Memorial Day was A. May 30; B. July 4; C. May 28; D. Nov 11.
5. Which U.S. Senator has tried repeatedly to pass legislation that would restore the traditional day of Memorial Day observance? A. John McCain B. Ted Kennedy C. Saxby Chambliss D. Daniel Inouye.
The answers, again provided by the Tifton Gazette:
OK, now for the answers. General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, proclaimed May 30, 1968 as Memorial Day in his General Order Number 11, issued on May 5, 1868. The purpose was to honor the dead from both sides in the War Between the States. Subsequently flowers were placed on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers in Arlington National Cemetery on May 30 of that year.
New York was the first state to officially recognize the Memorial Day, in 1873. Southern states, though paying tribute to their dead on separate dates, refused to use May 30 as the official date until after World War I, when the holiday was broadened to honor those who died in any war.
In 1915 a woman named Moina Michael, inspired by the poem, “In Flanders Fields,” (by Canadian Colonel John McRae) began wearing red poppies on Memorial Day to honor our nation’s war dead. The tradition grew and even spread to other countries. In 1922 the VFW became the first veterans’ organization to sell the poppies made by disabled veterans as a national effort to raise funds in support of programs for veterans and their dependents. In 1948 the US Post Office issued a red 3-cent stamp honoring Michael for her role in founding the national poppy movement.
As stated above, May 30 was the original Memorial Day. In 1971, with the passage of the national Holiday Act, Congress changed it so that Memorial Day would be celebrated on the last Monday of May. Some citizens feel that turning it into a “three-day weekend” has devalued the importance and significance of this special holiday. In fact, every time a new Congress has convened since 1989, Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii has introduced a bill to the Senate calling for the restoration of May 30th as the day to celebrate Memorial Day.
In his 1999 introductory remarks to the bill, Senator Inouye declared:
“Mr. President, in our effort to accommodate many Americans by making the last Monday in May, Memorial Day, we have lost sight of the significance of this day to our nation. Instead of using Memorial Day as a time to honor and reflect on the sacrifices made by Americans in combat, many Americans use the day as a celebration of the beginning of summer. My bill would restore Memorial Day to May 30 and authorize the flag to fly at half mast on that day.
In addition, this legislation would authorize the President to issue a proclamation designating Memorial Day and Veterans Day as days for prayer and ceremonies honoring American veterans. This legislation would help restore the recognition our veterans deserve for the sacrifices they have made on behalf of our nation.” (from the 1999 U.S. Congressional Record).
Other sources:
4 Comments | Citizenship, Flag ceremony, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Patriotism, veterans, War | Tagged: Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Life, Memorial Day, Patriotism | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Three U.S. flag burnings around Northampton, Massachusetts
December 26, 2007An Associated Press story in the Boston Herald notes three recent incidents in which U.S. flags were burned, in what appears to be a protest of some sort.
Police say a flag-burning incident in Northampton may be the work of an anti-American anarchist group.
The 5-by-9 foot American flag that hung from a birch tree outside of Eamon Mohan’s house on Bridge Street was reduced to ashes in the Friday night blaze.
A typewritten note left at the home and signed by the “American Patriot Liberation Front” claimed the United States was oppressing millions of people around the world. But police say they are unfamiliar with the group.
Police are investigating whether the flag burning is linked to two other incidents in western Massachusetts this month. A post office flag was thrown in a Dumpster and burned in Greenfield earlier this month and an American flag was stolen last week from outside a home in Amherst.
Notes similar to the one in Northampton were found in both cases.
U.S. flags should not be displayed at night, unless lighted, or unless the site is specifically exempted from that condition of flag display by an Act of Congress.
The Boston Globe reported the family harmed in the latest incident was honoring a child in the military:
Mohan’s family did not appear to be targeted, police said.
Mohan’s daughter, Megan, 19, is a US Marine, currently in training, and his son, Eamonn, 17, plans to join after his 18th birthday next month.
“I’m extremely proud of their serving this fine country,” said Mohan, 43. “No country is perfect, but we do a lot of good around the world that isn’t publicized.”
The note was signed by the “American Patriot Liberation Front.” Police said they were unfamiliar with the group. The group is not listed in the telephone directory, and no contact information could be found for it on the Web.
The protesters appear able to write: Why not a letter to the editor of the local newspaper? Such protests, to the point and to a greater audience, are part of what the flag stands for. The flag burners probably don’t note the irony.
Stupid protests give a bad name to protest.
More information:
1 Comment | Dissent, Flag etiquette, Politics | Tagged: Flag etiquette, Politics, protest, US Flag | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Pearl Harbor, 66 years ago today
December 7, 2007This is an encore post, from a year ago. That was the last official reunion of the Pearl Harbor veterans, though I suspect a few will be there today, unofficially. New resources at the end of the post:
______________________________________
Pearl Harbor, 65 years ago today
December 7, 2006
Today is the 65th anniversary of Japan’s attack on the U.S.’s Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Our local newspaper, The Dallas Morning News, has a front-page story on survivors of the attack, who have met every five years in reunion at Pearl Harbor. Today will be their last official reunion. The 18-year-olds who suffered the attack, many on their first trips away from home, are in their 80s now. Age makes future reunions impractical.
From the article:
“We’re like the dodo bird. We’re almost extinct,” said Middlesworth, now an 83-year-old retiree from Upland, Calif., but then – on Dec. 7, 1941 – an 18-year-old Marine on the USS San Francisco.
Nearly 500 survivors from across the nation were expected to make the trip to Hawaii, bringing with them 1,300 family members, numerous wheelchairs and too many haunting memories.
Memories of a shocking, two-hour aerial raid that destroyed or heavily damaged 21 ships and 320 aircraft, that killed 2,390 people and wounded 1,178 others, that plunged the United States into World War II and set in motion the events that led to atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
“I suspect not many people have thought about this, but we’re witnessing history,” said Daniel Martinez, chief historian at the USS Arizona Memorial. “We are seeing the passing of a generation.”
Another article notes the work of retired history professor Ron Marcello from the University of North Texas, in Denton, in creating oral histories from more than 350 of the survivors. This is the sort of project that high school history students could do well, and from which they would learn, and from which the nation would benefit. If you have World War II veterans in your town, encourage the high school history classes to go interview the people. This opportunity will not be available forever.
There is much to be learned, Dr. Marcello said:
Dr. Marcello said that in doing the World War II history project, he learned several common themes among soldiers.
“When they get into battle, they don’t do it because of patriotism, love of country or any of that. It’s about survival, doing your job and not letting down your comrades,” he said. “I heard that over and over.”
Another theme among soldiers is the progression of their fear.
“When they first got into combat, their first thought is ‘It’s not going to happen to me.’ The next thought is ‘It might happen to me,’ and the last thought is ‘I’m living on borrowed time. I hope this is over soon,’ ” Dr. Marcello said.
Dr. Marcello said the collection started in the early 1960s. He took charge of it in 1968. Since Dr. Marcello has retired, Todd Moye has taken over as the director.
Other sources:
- Be certain to check your local newspaper.
- Official U.S. Navy history of Pearl Harbor
- National Geographic’s “Remembering Pearl Harbor” site, with video
- U.S.S. Arizona National Memorial
While this is not one of the usual dates listed by Congress, you may fly your U.S. flag today.
— End of encore post —
Other resources:
- Pearl Harbor Memorial
- Reopening of Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas
- Historic radio reports of Pearl Harbor attack
- Baltimore Sun story on so few veterans left to remember
- “Pearl Harbor lives in the hearts of its vets,” Los Angeles Times
- Google collection of news stories about veterans, today
- USA Today, “Five survivors keep history alive at Pearl Harbor”
- Panoramic views of the memorials (this one from the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri)
9 Comments | Famous Battles, Fly your flag today, History, History museums, Travel, veterans, World War II | Tagged: Flag etiquette, History, Pearl Harbor, Travel, veterans | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Michigan officially remembers Pearl Harbor attack
December 6, 2007
Press release from Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm:
Flags to Fly Half-Staff Throughout Michigan on Friday in Honor of Pearl Harbor Day
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today encouraged Michigan citizens to observe Pearl Harbor Day on Friday, December 7, by lowering flags across the state to half-staff and remembering those who lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
“On Pearl Harbor Day, we honor the lives lost in the attack 66 years ago and remember that we enjoy freedom thanks to their supreme sacrifices,” Granholm said. “This year, we also salute the men and women stationed around the world, including those fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, who are defending and protecting our freedom today.”
In December 2005, Granholm signed Executive Order 2005-27 ordering the flag of the United States of America be flown half-staff on all state buildings and facilities throughout the state of Michigan on Pearl Harbor Day each December 7. Procedures for flag lowering, including on Pearl Harbor Day, were detailed by Governor Granholm in Executive Order 2006-10. The Legislature officially recognized the sacrifice of the servicemen and servicewomen who gave their lives at Pearl Harbor by enacting Public Act 157 of 2000, which declares that December 7 of each year be known as Pearl Harbor Day in the state.
On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Armed Forces of the United State of America stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, were attacked by the air and naval forces of Imperial Japan. The attack claimed the lives of 2,334 servicemen and servicewomen and wounded another 1,143.
When flown at half-staff or half-mast, the United States flag should be hoisted first to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff or half-mast position. The flag should again be raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day.
# # #
Michiganders, or anyone else, may subscribe to Flag Honors, the service notifying when flags in Michigan are to be flown half-staff. If you know of similar services for any other state, kindly make a note in comments.
Leave a Comment » | 1941-1945, Famous Battles, Flag etiquette, History, veterans, World War II | Tagged: Flag etiquette, History, Patriotism, Pearl Harbor, veterans | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Fly your flag today: Veterans Day
November 11, 2007Fly your U.S. flag today, to honor veterans of military service. November 11 was originally celebrated as Armistice Day after World War I’s armistice.
- Click here for the 2007 poster from the Veterans Administration, or for posters dating back to 1978.
- Veterans Day Teacher Resource Kit, for lesson plans and activities
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- (Other resources, from Google)
- Update: MFB post for Veterans Day 2008
- Update: MFB post for Veterans Day 2009
5 Comments | Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Heroes, History, War, World War I | Tagged: Flag etiquette, Fly your flag, Veterans Day | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Veterans Affairs will allow inaccurate history
November 3, 2007At the same time the Cleveland Plain Dealer defended inaccurate history in flag-folding ceremonies, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced it would allow inaccurate ceremonies, if the family of the departed veteran requests it, and if the family provides the script. Here’s the news from the Akron Beacon-Journal.
Scripts must still adhere to standards that prohibit racism, obscenity, or political partisanship.
2 Comments | Accuracy, Bogus history, First Amendment, History, Patriotism, Voodoo history | Tagged: Flag etiquette, Patriotism, Religion, veterans | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Cleveland Plain Dealer, what’s gotten into you?
November 3, 2007My brothers in journalism at the usually sensible Cleveland Plain Dealer have lost their journalistic senses.
In an editorial this morning, the paper supports, defends and calls for the reinstatement of the inaccurate, insulting and embarrassing flag folding script that the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemeteries finally, belatedly but justly, stopped promulgating a few weeks ago.
In the words of the Plain Dealer:
Those are not just folds in a meaningless fabric or empty words spoken at the grave site. They represent honor, continuity with the past, traditions to be preserved, even when some of the words may quietly be set aside for families who wish a different approach.
America’s military men and women put on the line not just life and limb, but often precious time with their children, higher pay or easier jobs, help to a spouse or an aging parent. They do so to serve their country. Their recompense when they get home is a veterans system at best struggling to meet crescendoing needs for medical, rehabilitative and psychiatric care – and now with a tin ear for what matters.
Except that they ARE meaningless words in the script, violative of tradition and law, historically inaccurate, and insulting to the memory of patriots like George Washington. They do not honor the past, portraying a false past instead. The ceremony is not traditional, having been written only in the past three decades or so. The script departs radically from the historic path of America’s patriots, defending freedom without regard to profession of faith.
Christians, Jews, Moslems, atheists and others put their lives on the line to defend this nation. They didn’t ask that their memories be fogged with silly and historically inaccurate glop.
The Air Force has a flag folding script that does not bend history or assault anyone’s religion. If someone wants to use a ceremony, why not that one? The accurate, Air Force version honors America’s veterans:
Traditionally, a symbol of liberty, the American flag has carried the message of freedom, and inspired Americans, both at home and abroad.
In 1814, Francis Scott Key was so moved at seeing the Stars and Stripes waving after the British shelling of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry that he wrote the words to “The Star Spangled Banner.”
In 1892, the flag inspired Francis Bellamy to write the “Pledge of Allegiance,” our most famous flag salute and patriotic oath.
In July 1969, the American flag was “flown” in space when Neil Armstrong planted it on the surface of the moon.
Why does the Plain Dealer choose a religious screed that insults history over a script that accurately honors all of America’s veterans?
The full text of the newer, accurate ceremony is below the fold.
3 Comments | Accuracy, Bogus history, Flag etiquette, Patriotism, Rampant stupidity, Religion, Separation of church and state, Voodoo history | Tagged: Bogus history, Flag etiquette, flag folding ceremony, History, Religion | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Right wing flogs the flag: Old whine in old skins
November 2, 2007Old hoaxes never die. Sometimes they don’t even fade away (making it certain that they are less honorable than any soldier).
Folding the flag by an Air Force color guard at Arlington National Cemetery; photo by Arlington National Cemetery
The right wing whine machine is working up a dudgeon because National Cemeteries now have a policy against use of a flag- and history-insulting script that ascribes all sorts of hoakum to the simple folding of the American flag at funerals — a ceremony which is touching and sobering when done as a military color guard does it in silence, as they are trained.
A blog named headsup explains most of the issues, with a few links, at “Keep opinion to self.”
Regular readers recognize the issue. Fillmore’s Bathtub explained how the discontinued ceremony butchered history, how some people clung to the old ceremony, and how the Air Force devised a more accurate ceremony to use if color guards are asked.
- “Fisking a flag-fold flogging”
- “Flag ceremony update” (and see this comment from Air Force Staff Sgt. Todd Lopez)
- “Flag ceremony update 2”
- “News coverage of ‘new’ flag ceremony for Air Force”
People who sow strife for a living never let facts get in the way of a good dudgeon.
Were this worthy of controversy, it should have been controversial months ago. The “folding ceremony” in contention was never official, and was rarely used. Do your own survey of veterans’ funerals to see; I have never heard of the ceremony actually used. We have the DFW National Cemetery within a few miles of our home. I regularly visit with veterans, and I have attended ceremonies myself. Don’t take my word for it.
Stick to the Flag Code and the Constitution, and no one will get hurt.
Michelle Malkin? Any other wacko commentators who don’t know the Flag Code? Get a clue. Remedial history is calling you. Please get off the soap boxes. Please quit using the U.S. flag to cover your gluteus maximii.
It’s time to stand up for accuracy, for real history, and for the law. Honor the flag by following the rules, not by dressing in it, or dragging it through the mud for ratings points.
Dishonor Roll:
- Captain’s Quarters to U.S. Constitution and U.S. History: “Drop Dead“
- The anti-Constitution bunch at STACLU
- Rhymes with Right, gets it wrong
- Blue Star Chronicles, who should know better
- Webloggin’, with very offensive epithets
- The Scrooge Report, notes American Legion stands against Flag Code and Constitution (“Scrooge” apparently before the hauntings)
- Texas Insider repeats Fox News errors
Honor Roll:
- Veterans Affairs Department memorandum corrects historical error
- Dispatches from the Culture Wars, gets it right, again and again
2 Comments | Bogus history, Flag ceremony, Flag etiquette, History, U.S. Constitution, Voodoo history | Tagged: First Amendment, Flag ceremony, flag desecration, Flag etiquette, Politics, Religion, Voodoo history | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
American flag display: Wall of shame
October 21, 2007Somebody had to do it. UShistory.org has a page dedicated to erroneous and disrespectful displays of the U. S. flag — a “what not to do directory.
That site also links to this one.
Please display your flags properly.
______________________________
Luba’s examples at his blog only make the point sharper. See especially the cartoon at the top of his post.
3 Comments | Flag etiquette, Patriotism | Tagged: flag desecration, flag display, Flag etiquette, honoring the U.S. flag, Patriotism | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Flag etiquette for the 4th of July
July 4, 2007Every kid should learn this stuff by third grade, but it’s clear from what we see that they don’t.
So here’s a quick review of dos and don’ts for display and behavior toward the U.S. flag on this most flag-worthy of days, the 4th of July. With a few comments.
1. Fly your flag, from sunup to sundown. If you’re lucky enough to have a flagpole, run the flag up quickly. Retire it slowly at sunset. Then go see fireworks.
2. Display flags appropriately, if not flown from a staff. If suspended from a building or a wall, remember the blue field of stars should always be on the right — the “northwest corner” as you look at it. Do not display a flag flat.
3. Salute the flag as it opens the 4th of July parade. In a better world, there would be just one U.S. flag at the opening of the parade, and the entire crowd would rise as it passes them in a great patriotic, emotional wave — civilians with their hands over their hearts, hats off; people in uniform saluting appropriately with hats on. It’s likely that your local parade will not be so crisp. Other entries in the parade will have flags, and many will be displayed inappropriately. A true patriot might rise and salute each one — but that would look silly, perhaps even sillier than those sunshine patriots who display the flag inappropriately. Send them a nice letter this year, correcting their behavior. But don’t be obnoxious about it.
4. Do not display the flag from a car antenna, attached to a window of a car, or attached in the back of a truck. That’s against the Flag Code, which says a flag can only be displayed attached to the right front fender of a car, usually with a special attachment. This means that a lot of the National Guard entries in local parades will be wrongly done, according to the flag code. They defend the flag, and we should not make pests of ourselves about it. Write them a letter commending their patriotism. Enclose the Flag Code, and ask them to stick to it next time. Innocent children are watching.
5. Do not dishonor the flag by abusing it or throwing it on the ground. It’s become popular for a local merchant to buy a lot of little plastic flags and pass them out to parade goers. If there is an advertisement on the flag, that is another violation of the Flag Code. The flag should not be used for such commercial purposes. I have, several times, found piles of these flags on the ground, dumped by tired people who were passing them out, or dumped by parade goers who didn’t want to carry the things home. It doesn’t matter if it’s printed on cheap plastic, and made in China — it is our nation’s flag anyway. Honor it. If it is worn, dispose of it soberly, solemnly, and properly.
That’s probably enough for today. When the Flag Desecration Amendment passes — if it ever does — those parade float makers, National Guard soldiers, and merchants, can all be jailed, perhaps. Or punished in other ways.
Until that time, our best hope is to review the rules, obey them, and set examples for others.
Have a wonderful 4th of July! Fly the flag. Read the Declaration of Independence out loud. Love your family, hug them, and feed them well. That’s part of the Pursuit of Happiness that this day honors. It is your right, your unalienable right. Use it wisely, often and well.
- Image: Flag flying in front of the U.S. Capitol. If from a photo, this flag is probably one on one of the buildings of the Library of Congress. It is a Library of Congress photo.
4 Comments | 1776, 4th of July, Accuracy, First Amendment, Flag ceremony, Flag etiquette, History | Tagged: 1776, Accuracy, First Amendment, Flag ceremony, Flag etiquette, Fourth of July, History, July 4, U.S. Flag | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Pre-July 4 special: “English only” video insults U.S. flag
June 29, 2007Okay. I’ve had five or six people send me links to a YouTube video of Ron and Kay Rivoli singing “Press One for English.” Ha. Ha.
It’s a rant about language accommodations. Some Americans, free marketeers for the most part, get all buggy when confronted with a free market in language choices. America is becoming more global, marketing more goods in more places, and getting visited by more people. This growth in commerce brings things like American Airlines’ Spanish language reservations center (Who would have thought? When they can make reservations in Spanish, Spanish speakers buy a lot more airplane tickets.)
And Ron and Kay Rivoli put these fears into a song. Funny.
Can we talk? Can I pick a bone? Ron and Kay Rivoli insult the U.S. flag. They may not mean to do it, they may have done it unthinkingly — but that’s the problem with the whole rant: It’s all unthinking.
Here are the flag insults:
- 44 seconds into the video three servicemen are shown saluting the U.S. flag, displayed with the flag of California and the POW-MIA flag. Contrary to the Flag Code and good flag etiquette, the U.S. flag is in the center, rather than to its own right. A center display would be acceptable if the center flag pole were higher than the others — but in this case the U.S. flag’s pole is lower than the other two. Two flag insults at once.
- At 2:59 into the video, the flag is shown as cut into an agricultural field of some kind. The Flag Code specifies that the flag is never to be displayed flat. The flag should fly free. Since this flag is cut into a crop on the ground, it cannot be displayed properly. Further, it is generally considered poor etiquette to make representations of the flag out of things other than cloth.
This is all highly ironic. At 1:37 into the video, a scroll of the famous Theodore Roosevelt quote on English as the only language scrolls by. “We have room for but one flag, the American flag,” Roosevelt said (oops — there goes the POW-MIA flag). “We have room but for one language, and that is the English language,” Roosevelt continues.
They use the flag they insult as a model for going for one language? This makes no sense.
Do I pick nits? No, I think that every educated American should know the flag code, and should avoid insult to the U.S. flag at least, if not honor it correctly. I am not pedantic about a lot of things, but this is one.
Ron and Kay Rivoli, you owe America and its flag apologies. Get straight with the flag, before you ask me to insult the traditional languages and free enterprise heritage of our nation. If you want my support, don’t tread on the American flag when you ask it.
The Rivolis owe apologies to the U.S. flag. Will we see it?
89 Comments | Economics, Flag ceremony, Flag etiquette, History, Illegal Immigrants, Immigration, Patriotism, Reason | Tagged: Economics, Flag ceremony, Flag etiquette, History, Illegal Immigrants, Immigration, Patriotism, Press One for English, Reason, Ron and Kay Rivoli | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 