Happy Fourth. Careful how you treat that flag.
We had a family barbecue for Independence Day; Kerry couldn’t be there but the rest of us ate a lot of food, watched the kids splash around in the kiddy pool, watched Coach Carter, then went to see the fireworks. Typical American behavior.
Other typical American behavior: To watch the fireworks (because, in Vacaville, if you sit in the right place, you can see both the fireworks over downtown and the fireworks over the baseball park) we picked an empty lot next to the Valero gas station; a lot filled with dry grass and weeds. Some dumbasses sitting near us decided that this would be the perfect spot to light sparklers and small fireworks; never mind that fireworks are illegal in this county (and to get an exemption, you need to have the fire department at your event). It would have been very cool if their fireworks had started a small grass fire that consumed their car, just for the personal lesson; but I suppose such a fire would have consumed the gas station and three fast food restaurants and wouldn’t have been worth it.
Most of us wore t-shirts with either the U.S. flag or some flag logo on them. Someone pointed out to me that such shirts violate the U.S. Flag Code. So, for fun, I looked it up and found that, by golly, we Americans violate this code all the time.
- Can’t sell items that have the flag or U.S. colors, with anything attached to it, on it. This would invalidate all the flag T-shirts and hats, my flag-decorated water bottle, etc. In the code, it states you can be charged with a misdemeanor for doing so, fined $100, and jailed 30 days. But since that part of the code was declared unconstitutional in 1989, nobody pays attention to it.
- The flag must never be used in advertising. So when the local papers print a flag for holidays, the “Sponsored by
[generic business] ” shouldn’t be on that page. Again: unconstitutional, so nobody pays attention to it. - When men say the pledge, take your hat off. Violated at stadiums across America. Violated by every Marine, who is forbidden to remove his “cover” for any reason. Are you telling me Marines aren’t patriotic?
- The flag can be on display 24 hours if properly illuminated. Violated by every flag that hangs outside a house overnight.
- The flag must not touch the ground. My one-year-old niece violated this one several times yesterday.
- The flag must be displayed at schoolhouses. Private schools often ignore this.
- In parades, the flag goes to the right. Not the center.
- On a car, the flag must be attached to the chassis or the right fender. Not the antenna.
- No other flags may be more prominent than the U.S. flag in the U.S. I would make an exception for the Christian flag.
- However hung off a wall, the union must be on the right. I’ve seen some exceptions to this one.
- No covering a ceiling with it. My local Army surplus store violates this one.
- When flown half-staff, the flag must be hoisted to the peak first, then lowered. Nobody does this except the military.
- When worn out, burn it. For fun, carry a protest sign and do it in front of City Hall.
Part of being American means we should be able to do with our flag what we wish—and suffer the social consequences if what we do offends others.
Comments…
Because he thought it was silly, “New_and_unimproved” wanted to know about the Christian flag. So did I, so I looked some stuff up.
The designers were Charles C. Overton and Ralph Diffendorfer, who began promoting it in the early 20th century, and it’s since caught on throughout the Americas and Africa. It was created by Protestants, but I’ve also seen it in more than one Catholic church.
Part of the promotion of the flag was also the “Christian flag pledge,” which is usually recited at Protestant Christian schools after the Pledge of Allegiance. I find the Christian flag pledge to be stupid and derivative of the Pledge of Allegiance, and never bothered to do it with my students. I taught them the Apostles’ Creed, which we recited before the Pledge of Allegiance—because that, I feel, is the proper order.