Honoring Old Glory
As a former Girl Scout, I'm occasionally scandalized by disrespect for our flag. There are specific ways we're to treat & respond to the flag to indicate patriotic respect. Yes, the flag is just an item....but it's also a potent symbol with rituals to express patriotic honor for all it stands for. Symbols & rituals are as ancient as humanity. It's nice to know the rules so we can teach them to our kiddos. It's kinda cool to explain the flag is considered a living thing with special customs. Below is info I found helpful. Have a safe & happy 4th of July!
(If you want to read the specifics, see U.S. Code, Section 176, Title 36, Patriotic Societies and Observances, Chapter 10, Patriotic Customs. You can read this and other U.S. Codes at the outstanding Web site posted by the Cornell University School of Law (www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/).)
Here's a brief summary of the U.S. Flag Code.
The flag should be hoisted briskly at dawn and lowered ceremoniously at dusk. The flag should be displayed at night only if it is lighted dramatically, as from below. To fly the flag at half-staff, raise it briskly to the top of the pole, keep it there for a moment and then lower it to half-staff. Before taking the flag down for the day, return it briefly to the top of the pole.
The flag should not be displayed on days when the weather is inclement, except when an all-weather flag is used.
When the flag is displayed from a staff projecting horizontally or at an angle, the union (the blue rectangle on which stars are embroidered or fastened) should be at the staff's peak, unless the flag is being flown at half-staff.
When displayed horizontally against a wall the union should be to the left of the observer, looking from the street or in the audience. The same holds when a flag is displayed horizontally in a window. When the flag is displayed vertically against a wall, the union is also to the observer's left. Likewise, when a flag is hung vertically in a window.
When displayed directly over a street, the flag is hung vertically, and it is centered in the street with the union aligned with the north or east. In a north/south street, this means the flag is hung across the street with the union on the east side of the street. Conversely, on an east/west street, the union is on the north side of the street.
For visual reference on all of this, visit the American Legion Web site (www.legion.org).
Prohibitions
Never use the flag for advertising purposes, as drapery, linens or as clothing, or print it on items soon to be discarded--napkins and paper plates, for example. It should not be used as part of a uniform--athletic or otherwise, unless you are a member of the military, a patriotic organization, police force, fire department or rescue/ambulance squad.
Never attach a flag directly to a vehicle or drape it over a vehicle. Instead, the flag should be attached to a staff secured to a vehicle's chassis or to the right front fender. The flag should be displayed on floats in a similar manner. When bunting is used for patriotic display instead of a flag, the colors are arranged from top to bottom: blue, white and red.
Never display the flag in a manner in which it is easily damaged or with it touching the ground.
Never display the flag upside down--as this is a distress signal.
All those present at a parade are to recognize the flag when it passes as part of a holiday parade & stand.
Place your right hand over your heart. In particular, the code says: "Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart." Military personnel in uniform should "render the military salute."
Comments
I too have been offended by the misuse of the flag. Just the other day I saw a fat man wearing an American flag t-shirt and I was appalled. But come to think of it, what could be more American than an Obese man with bad taste.
Posted by: Janice Silver | July 7, 2006 05:21 PM