The United States Flag Code

The United States Flag Code is a silly bit of needless formality. It lays out rules for how the flag should be flown and treated in general. First of all, it is essentially ineffective. There are no penalties for violating these rules. The Supreme Court has struck down State and Federal laws forbidding desecration of the flag, so it is not at all clear that penalties could be enforced if they had been written into the code. Second, it is an attempt to show reverence to a piece of cloth. It’s a piece of cloth … or polyester or nylon or whatever it is they make it out of these days. It’s not the soul of the country. It’s not the foundation of our democracy. It’s a rather garish piece of fabric. That’s it. It’s a symbol … it’s not the thing it symbolizes. No one ever died for a flag. Third, it’s needless rules. If you want to lay down some guidelines to allow for some order and homogenization, fine … issue a memo. Talk about big government! Fourth, it seems a little too uniform if you ask me. Do we all really have to display symbols of our country in the same way? Do we all experience our country in the same way? Are we the same? Fifth, it seems like a bit of a violation of the freedom of speech, among others, something the Supreme Court seems to agree with me on. Sixth, it really seems like there are more important things to worry about. Which is why I’ll leave it at that.