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Hey, so Ben told me last week about flag rules. I didn’t know they existed!

The flag code

Flag frequently asked questions

The most striking stuff:

To burn a flag is considered the appropriate, respectful way to dispose of a flag that has been soiled. (To use this as a political protest is so much different (and better) than what I thought it was!)

To fly a flag upside down is to indicate dire distress or urgent physical danger. (Use of this as a protest: kind of nonsensical.)

Use of a flag in advertisements: forbidden. (Ha!)

There is no enforcement of these rules or consequence for breaking them; they are merely guidelines. The Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that to enforce the flag code would violate first amendment rights. Which is as it should be.

But honestly? Reading about ways to respect the flag? My heart swelled a little with pride for my nation. I’m not kidding. Scoff all you want, ye cynics. But liberal me is no iconoclast. I love my country and I like the notion of treating the symbol of my country with respect. The flag and the country = not the same thing as the current governmental leaders, whose backsides I cannot wait to see. We ain’t perfect. But I can’t help it–I like us.

abashedly sentimentally yours,
A