Issue 24.17
This week is known as “Flag Week” and we are encouraged as citizens to proudly display the US Flag all week. The 14th of June is generally acknowledged as “Flag Day” and many businesses, churches and other organizations not only display the flag but provide flags for the people in their neighborhoods to fly.
Strips of cloth and printed or embroidered stars have no meaning except what we place on them. Historically, colored pennants or flags were used to identify clans or nations. Symbols were often printed or sewn into them to further identify who they represented or what ideals they held dear. Usually flags over forts, ships or other installations declared who controlled that position and were lowered and/or replaced when conquered or surrendered to indicate the new owners were in charge.
This is often especially important in times of conflict or war so that soldiers and artillery would know who was friend or foe and not fire on their own people. Some of the most stirring photos and plays or movies we remember with patriotic pride center on the valiant waving of a flag by those who have conquered or hope to conquer or defend a location or their countrymen or ideals. Some of the episodes that have moved me are the scenes in Les Miserables, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Gettysburg and many versions of King Arthur and his knights winning the day or facing insurmountable odds with conviction and bravery. Most of us remember and feel something when seeing the statue or pictures of Iwo Jima or the fall of the twin towers and the central place of the flag in those experiences.
Our national anthem was written as a poem shortly after a battle of the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key was a “guest” of the British military (he was not allowed to leave until the battle was over) on the ship HMS Tonnant. The British ships were bombarding Fort McHenry near Baltimore in an effort to take it. As he anxiously looked out the window after a night of fighting, he saw that our “flag was still there”.
For most of us who care about the freedoms and principles we hold dear as citizens of the United States of America, the flag is imbued with meaning and emotion. We pledge allegiance to it as a symbol of the “republic for which it stands” and feel that it brings forth patriotism and love of country and her people. There are things we should always remember as we try to show respect for the flag.
It is recommended but no longer required that flags be raised in the morning and lowered in the evening. If they are left up continuously, it is recommended that they be lighted by some type of spotlight. When a flag becomes worn, torn or threadbare, it is appropriate to “retire” the flag rather than just throw it away. Boy Scouts often hold flag retirement ceremonies where the flag is burned with respect. By contrast, people who are angry with the government sometimes burn the flag to protest actions or policies in addition to other actions that would desecrate the flag. This is usually a protected free speech issue by law in the United States unless other laws are being broken by the action. However, many examples of physical confrontations have occurred when this is attempted as those who honor the flag try to stop those who do not from committing such acts.
From the flag that Betsy Ross sewed during the Revolutionary War to the official law proclaiming Flag Day in 1949 and to the present, most of us who hold our freedoms and hopes for the future dear, desire to show our honor for the flag of the United States. This is true even when we disagree with those who inhabit the halls of government. It is, after all, about the principles of freedom. We hope the flag encourages all to honor and support those principles and the Constitution of the United States which created and supports the Republic for which it stands.
Lynn West is a thinker, a teacher and a patriot. You can reach him through email at forgingthefuture2021@gmail.com or through this newspaper. Liberty is a state of being which must be continually created. These articles can help all of us discover the ways we can contribute to that outcome.