This past July 4th, our church had a big patriotic acknowledgment of
the veterans that have served in our country. It was very nice, and I
like when we do that, although sometimes it seems overdone. There was
a lot of red, white, and blue worn in the congregation that morning.
A lot of people wearing flag symbols on their clothing, but one thing
stood out that bothered me. Our pastor was wearing a flag shirt. It
was like a Hawaiian shirt, button down, long untucked, short sleeve,
and it had the American flag on it.
It was the American flag with the stars over his left upper part of
his body and the stripes extending from the left lower part of his
body and about the middle of his chest to the right part of his body.
It wasn't a patch, the shirt was the flag. Growing up on Air Force
bases as my dad worked his way through the military I learned respect
for the flag. Everybody had to pause in the morning and the evening
when the flag was raised and lowered.
I said the Pledge of Allegiance at school every morning. We stood when
the Star -Spangled Banner was played. And we didn't stand and keep
doing things. We stood and watched reverently. As an adult, I got away
from that a little bit, but then once I got involved in scouting for
my boys, I got back into it.
Scouting teaches a lot about the American flag and respect for it. And
teaches how to care for the flag, how to properly display the flag.
and how to dispose of a flag properly you don't just throw it away
there's a ceremony that you should have for a flag.
There are actually laws on how to display and use the American flag.
In 4 US Code Section 7, Position and Manner of Display, the law
actually outlines the use of the American flag. There's a lot of
different things that it says in that.
Especially about making sure no other flag is displayed above it and
that sort of thing. But, it doesn't say you can't wear a shirt that is
a flag. It does say things about how the flag should be displayed.
But it bothered me that he was wearing a shirt that was the American
flag. All I could think of is that he's probably going to throw that
on the floor when he takes his shirt off later on in the day.
That's one of the things you're not supposed to do with the American
flag. You're not supposed to change the American flag and you're not
supposed to wear it and do the sorts of things that I see. Even pages
on the internet, like National Flag Foundation stuff, says that
American flag coffee cups, sweatshirts, and curtains are not patriotic
and they refer back to the U .S. code. The flag should never be worn
as apparel or used as bedding, curtains, or covering for a ceiling.
And so that's where I choke on what he was doing with that shirt. I
don't understand why people have such a lack of respect other than
they haven't been educated when I talk to my wife about it.
She said you should say something but I also reminded her that nobody
really cares what I say and usually people react negatively when I
give them feedback that involves a correction.
I'll probably send an email and just say, hey, you may want to review
this page in the US code and let your conscience be your guide. We'll see.
