A large 3D rendered American flag floats in the wind. Win9x/2k/ME/NT/XP (299KB)
Posted on 06/14/2003 7:56:07 AM PDT by Tribune7
Congress resolved on June 14, 1777, "that the Flag of the United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white; that the Union be 13 stars white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."
As a result of this resolution June 14, in later years, became designated as Flag Day.
Regarding the American Flag, famous American personages have been moved to express their feelings. It is, after all, the most visible of American symbols. Henry Ward Beecher, 1813-1887, American Presbyterian minister and writer, made this apt observation:
(Excerpt) Read more at countypressonline.com ...
(freep the poll on the page)
Fly the flag every day.
First, there are lots of sites on the web for folks to go to so that they can check out these customs for themselves. These are generally not laws, but do reflect rules of organizations such as the US Military, various municipalities and patriotic organizations, such as veterans groups. Many are written down in Congressional resolutions, but do not generally carry the force of law. The first amendment and all that.
Perhaps most often neglected is that the flag should not be flown in bad weather, unless it is specifically an all weather flag. Generally even then it is customary to bring in the flag. Secondly a flag should only be flown between the hours of sun rise and sunset, unless the flag is illuminated by spotlight during darkness. I see alot of flags, including in my neighbors yards, that have flown continuously since 9/11. I respect their sentiment so I haven't picked nits with them, but I have mentioned to those that have ragged flags that it's time to replace them. On that point, the flag should never be displayed if it is frayed or damaged (exceptions are historic flags, such as the one from Fort McHenry, which is THE Star Spangled Banner, or the one recovered from ground zero). Local veteran's groups can assist in the proper, respectful, disposal of damaged flags.
When flying a flag from a flagpole the star field should be in the upper corner nearest the flagpole. Flying it with the star field in the lower corner is generally recognized as a sign of distress. Some protestors have taken to flying the flag upside down as a political statement. Also, when on a flagpole with another flag, or in a group of flagpoles, the US flag should always be the topmost flag displayed, unless the other flags are of other countries, in which case they should all be the same height and all raised and lowered simultaneously.
When displaying the flag hanging vertically against a wall, either horizontally or vertically, the star field should be on the flag's own right, the viewers left. That's how I display my flag and it always screws me up when I go to set it up (I always want to put the star field over the flags "heart," which would be it's left side).
As I say, there are lots of good sites for getting down the accepted dos and don'ts of displaying Old Glory. If we wish to show respect for our flag and what it truly stands for we should go out of our way to try and follow these traditions. They tend to come down to us from people who shed blood to give us the freedoms that the flag represents (despite what Barbara Streisand says). One such site I found in a quick search was http://www.usflag.org/flag.etiquette.html
I would also recommend that people do a web search to find Red Skelton's reading of the Pledge Of Allegience. I won't post it here, and it has been posted on FR many times, but it's worth taking the trouble to dig up and read or listen to. It really says it all.
LOL! A few minutes after I posted that, the sky opened up and all hell broke loose! Yep, we made the right call. I guess I was looking out the wrong side of the house at the time.
Done properly. I second your sentiment. Having said that I just realized I didn't bring mine in at dusk. Scuse me...
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