After having spent 20 years in the military I am very proud of our national emblem, the American flag! But it amazes me just how many people are proud of our country and display the flag proudly, on a car antennas, flying over auto malls, in their car windows and so on. What I find distressing is how many people don't know how to properly display the flag so as not to show it disrespect. Here I hope to share with you what I learned in the military about showing proper respect to the flag.
1) Flags should not be displayed at night. Flags are meant to be put up on the flagpole or in your front yard at dawn and brought down at dusk. The only exception to this rule is if the flag is illuminated by a spotlight or some other form of lighting that makes it plainly visible. Now this brings up all kinds of "trouble areas" that are obvious if even if you don't look for them. An example: the building that doesn't take their flag down at night, the Auto Mall that has a flag that's two stories tall, flying two stories in the air that they leave up all night because it's too much of a bother or too big to bring down every day. This Auto Mall thing kind of irks me anyway for the following reason...
2) American flags should not be used for advertising. Now if you stop by the Auto Mall and ask, they would tell you "we're just displaying our national pride!" Unfortunately, you and I both know that the real reason is to attract people so that they can sell more cars. And more often than not, these flags are not illuminated (see point number one) or taken in during the rain.
3) Although the idea of having an American flag on your automobile antenna seems like a good idea. The problem is when it's been on there so long that it gets old, grimy and ratty lookin. At that point it is a sign of disrespect. I understand that you may be patriotic, but think about it... you're saying it's not Ok to burn a flag, but it is Ok to leave it on your car antenna until it shreds and fades into nothing? I'm not saying don't have them on your car antenna, just replace them before they start looking old and frayed.
4) This one is pretty closely connected to the "leaving your flag out at night" rule. Don't leave your flag out when it's raining! At the first sign of rain, take your flag inside! Taking a flag inside will stop it from fading and/or shredding and getting weatherworn (see number three). I see a lot of flags hanging out on porches in the rain and it disappoints me that the people don't think of their flags to bring them inside.
5) And this one is a rule in the military, however I don't expect people to follow it's advice. I have to admit I don't always follow it either. The rule is "don't let the flag touch the ground." Now obviously throwing their flag on the ground is a sign of disrespect, but dropping it, shaking it off and putting away (or up) can also be a sign of disrespect. Keep your flag clean! If you need to, wash it and hang it out to dry. But don't let it get soiled, stained or otherwise marred. The military really follow this rule strictly. If a flag touches the ground, or is dropped or otherwise soiled, the flag is burned. This is not to say, that it is burned the way and activist would throw the flag on the ground and burn it. There is a special ceremony to be performed during the burning to show it the proper respect. There are a number of Boy Scout troops in our local area right now that are collecting soiled, damaged and just old flags, so that they can be disposed of properly. It truly breaks my heart to walk by a trashcan and see where someone has thrown away a flag as if it were just another piece of garbage.
Now, go out there and share this knowledge with your neighbor, your friends and co-workers. Maybe if we get enough people talking, the flag will finally get the respect it deserves!
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