As all are aware, this Saturday, June 14, is Flag Day. Let’s start with the law.
Section 8 of Chapter 4 of the United States Code provides, in part, as follows:
“No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing. …
(b) The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as … merchandise. …
(d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. …
(g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature. …
(i) The flag … should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard. …
(j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart. … [Emphasis Added]”
Notwithstanding these statutory admonitions, the now-omnipresent “AI Overview” stated in my Google results: “… 4 U.S.C. § 8 … outlines the customs and practices regarding the display and use of the American flag. While the law itself doesn’t carry the force of law in terms of criminal penalties for not following the guidelines, it is considered a code of etiquette and good practice.”
I have sympathy for those who employ the flag in ways that arguably breach the statutory bounds of etiquette when such uses are intended to call attention to an injustice that the wielders sincerely – and rationally — believe needs correcting. I would offer that these actions, whether or not one agrees with them, are made in the exercise of one of the rights that the flag stands for: the freedom of expression. Although I’m a bit aesthetically offended when I see someone wearing a flag shirt vulnerable to an errant mustard drip, such can be dismissed as innocent exuberance, particularly around Memorial and Flag Days and the Fourth of July. That said, I consider those who flaunt the flag while sowing hatred and discord among our people to be defiling it. How badly is our flag desecrated when it is prominently displayed in the lapel of a politician engaging in self-aggrandizement, spewing self-serving lies, and/or inciting discord?
A larger concern: At this point, when I see our flag flying in front of a house, or see a fellow citizen wearing or using flag-themed apparel or paraphernalia, my visceral reaction is: that’s a Trump supporter. This is obviously an over-generalization, but I would suggest that my inclination is more often accurate than not. Republicans have been increasingly claiming the flag as their own as far back as President Richard Nixon. President George W. Bush made the flag lapel pin a political de rigueur badge of patriotism as he prosecuted his grotesquely ill-advised Middle East invasions. (President Ronald Reagan, whom many Americans of a couple of generations might consider to most closely personify American patriotism, somehow managed to lead the country for eight years without wearing a flag lapel pin.) However, such usurpation has reached its zenith in the era of President Donald Trump. MAGAs have attempted to make it a trademark of a culturally homogeneous America, insinuating that whoever ostentatiously — I would suggest promiscuously — displays it is a “truer” American. Now they blend it with other symbols you see at MAGA rallies: the flags with Mr. Trump’s picture emblazoned upon them; the MAGA hats; the Confederate flag; the Swastika.
The reason for posting this note so far before Flag Day is to make you aware, if you are not already, of the “NO KINGS” protests across the nation being undertaken by Indivisible and like organizations on June 14, as a counterpoint to the military/birthday parade being staged at Mr. Trump’s instance on the same day in Washington, D.C. These activist groups seek to shift the public’s attention from the military/birthday parade to spotlight unlawful Trump Administration actions.
(A Military/Birthday Parade, you ask? What does that mean? Well, Mr. Trump turns 79 on June 14. Monica Crowley, a one-time aide to Mr. Nixon, now apparently the State Department’s chief of protocol, reportedly recently stated: “June 14 is a special day. Of course, it’s the president’s birthday, so I’m sure the crowd will break out into a ‘Happy Birthday.’ Providential. And it’s also Flag Day … Meant to be. Hand of God, for sure.”)
Providential. Meant to be. Hand of God. I know, I know: all she left out was, “Divine Right.” A link to a website describing the seemingly-aptly named “NO KINGS” gatherings is immediately below. For those reading these posts who live outside the Madison, WI, area, the number of marches across the country listed on the website is fairly impressive. Full disclosure: although I have taken part in a number of protest gatherings and marches since Mr. Trump took office, I won’t be able to personally engage in this one. Since I can’t attend, at least I can mark the demonstrations here. That said, someone very, very close to me 😉 intends to participate in the Madison march along with several associates.
I’ve never been inclined to fly the flag in front of our house or wear a flag pin. As the federal statute suggests, I believe that patriotism resides in your heart, not on your chest. I fear that many of Mr. Trump’s supporters fail to grasp that that our flag doesn’t just belong to them. To them I say: It’s mine, too. Give it here.
McCoy's Noise 