« Can’t afford to NOT be picky: Looking great on a budget | Home | Leather bags, an affordable luxury »
U.S. flag etiquette
By Meg | July 4, 2007
Today is the Independence Day here in the U.S. (yes, we usually just call it “July 4th”), when we celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. There are plenty of U.S. flags flying today and if you go into just about any store in the nation you will see a plethora of products with the flag displayed. People are willing to spend big bucks to proclaim their patriotism. However, many such signs of patriotism are likely to be seen as sacrilege by other citizens.
Many people, particularly younger generations, are not familiar with the U.S. flag code or flag etiquette in general. I leave it up to you to decide whether or not to follow the code (this is the land of the free, after all), but now is a good time to take a look unless you want to risk ticking off a lot of people who can be quite zealous about this sort of thing. You can view the flag code at the American Legion web site, or check out a summary of flag etiquette USFlag.org. Big no-no’s include using the U.S. flag as or on clothing except for patches on some types of uniforms (no flag bikinis or even flags on t-shirts!), no flags on anything disposable (no flag napkins, paper plates, etc.), no flags used as drapery for decoration, and no flags used for advertising. In general, the flag is only supposed to be displayed on a proper pole, above or equal to all other flags.
Also, now is as good a time as any to have a look at the flags that you may be flying. If it is dirty, tattered, or torn, take it down. Flags can and should be cleaned and mended. However, when the flag can no longer be displayed in good condition it should be retired. You may take your retired flags to your local American Legion where they will burn it with ceremony as allowed in the flag code.
Happy 4th of July!
Tags: Etiquette
Related Posts:
July 7th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
My friend gave me a book on this.
July 8th, 2007 at 3:43 am
Hi Enid P.! You have a wise friend by the sounds of it. Unfortunately, flag etiquette is something that is rarely taught (though often complained about in some circles).