Ken's Mouthpiece: The American Flag

Like most proud Americans, I am instinctively offended when I see our flag being blatantly disrespected. In the most obvious displays of disrespect, I have seen the flag burned in acts of protest. And, last year, I can remember at least one instance of an Occupy Wall Street participant who gave a flag to his dog to use as a chew toy. I can understand the passion of a protest, but I could never quite understand why people feel compelled to desecrate our flag in the process.

With all of this being said, I discovered, that aside from the obvious displays of what I'd consider disrespecting our flag, it actually happens in more subtle ways than I ever realized. And before I go any further, my point is not to cast judgement on those involved in the following events. I just found it truly interesting that most of these things were in direct violation of the flag rules and regulations...*

At a 2009 inaugural celebration in Baltimore, flags were distributed with the face and name of the newly elected Barrack Obama. And earlier this year in Lake County, Florida, a flag depicting the image of President Obama's face in place of the starts was flown at the Democratic headquarters. This is violation of section 8g of the flag code: "The flag should never have placed upon it, nor any part of it, insignia, letter. word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature."

There have been instances of politicians such as George W. Bush and Sarah Plain signing flags for supporters. Although it may seem patriotic, this too, is in violation of section 8g.

Governor Chris Christie took some criticism for ordering flags to be flown at half staff after the death of recording artist, Whitney Houston. Christie also did the same for famous saxophonist and Bruce Springsteen band mate, Clarence Clemmons when he passed last year. Perhaps, now even a bit more controversial, Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett ordered flags flown at half staff to honor Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno. No matter how you feel about any of this, it looks like both Governors were in violation of section 7m of the flag code which authorizes the Governor to half staff the flag to honor, upon death, the present or former official of the government of the state. The flag can also be lowered by the Governor to honor a member of the Armed Forces who dies while serving on active duty. Sorry, nothing in the code addresses Grammy award winners or football coaches.

Along these same lines, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, in 2008, ordered flags flown at half staff to honor news journalist, Tim Russert. But it looks like Mayor Brown overstepped his bounds as only the President, Governor or Mayor of DC, again under section 7m, can order flags to be flown at half staff.

We have probably all seen people wearing the American flag as clothing to some degree. I've seen the flag configured as swimsuits, dresses, t-shirts, etc. I actually always thought it looked great to see people displaying their American pride in the form of their clothing. However, it looks like this too is a no-no under section 8b which says that the flag should never be used as wearing apparel.

I have also seen welcome mats with an image of the American flag. Personally, I always thought something was fundamentally wrong with walking or wiping your dirty shoes on anything with an image of the flag. Well, it turns out that I wasn't far off in my thinking as section 8b states that "the flag should touch nothing beneath it, such as the ground..." Might be something to keep in mind the next time you're shopping for a new doormat.

We've all seen those huge flags that are displayed on the field before huge events such as the Super Bowl. These flags are usually stretched across the field and suspended by a large number of people. Again, I always always thought it was a beautiful display especially during he playing of our National Anthem. However, this too, is in violation of the flag rules as section 8c states that "the flag must never be carried flat or horizontally..."

In recent celebrations of Hispanic heritage, the Mexican flag has been flown over top of the US flag. The fact that we're in the US should tell anyone that this is taboo. But technically, the top and the bottom National flags are a moot point as section 7g states: "When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from different staffs...." I will chime in on this one and say, "If happen you think Mexico is superior to the United States, then pack your bags and head back across the border, amigo!

Companies, such as McDonalds, often fly their logo flag underneath of the American flag at their places of business. This is a violation of section 8i which says that advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff from which the flag is flown.

I have also seen credit cards with the image of the America flag. This breaks rule 8i which states..."the flag should never be used in any advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever.."

Have you ever been to a Fourth of July party and seen those "patriotic" paper plates and napkins depicting the Stars & Stripes? Yep, you guessed it! Section 8h sates that "the flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying or delivering anything.."

I believe that most of us proud Americans would never do anything to intentionally to disrespect our flag. And I'm pretty sure that most of the folks in the above examples didn't realize that they were doing anything wrong.

Originally, I innocently intended on pasting a photo of the American flag to this story, but I realized that I would be in violation of several sections of the flag code. I now know that there's a fine line between displaying your American pride and being disrespectful.

http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/faq.htm