Treating "Old Glory"--the U.S. Flag--With Proper Respect

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Below is a link to a great site that tells you virtually everything you ought to have been taught about the flag of these United States. I say "ought to have been taught" because it's obvious from things I've seen that most folks now-a-days are ignorant of how our chief banner should be treated. It's called "Flag Etiquette," & every patriot in our nation should learn it. Here's what led me to post this. A few days ago, Elic, my helper & BFF, who, when she goes through the parking lot to pick up my mail or toss trash into the dumpster, keeps an eye on the ground for things she thinks I'll find amusing, or for lost change. Don't laugh; I've used those pennies to buy stuff! On occasion, she brings in folding money! But the fun stuff is usually little toys & so on. I have a tiny black panther who is a conversation piece, for example, set up in a sort of doll house. The other day, Elic came in with 3 itty U.S. flags made of paper, glued to toothpicks for staffs. She said she thought people used them to stick in cupcakes as party decorations, after which they were to be thrown away. In flag etiquette, one of the major rules is that you should never allow a flag to even touch the ground, which is where she found all of these, plus the paper flags break several other rules (used for commercial purposes, e.g.). I'm sure no-one meant any disrespect for the flag. They probably had in mind that it was patriotic to teach kids about the flag, or maybe they just realized Americans valued it, & knew it would sell well being so popular. Never-the-less, they did go against the rules, & thus I thought, why not re-educate people in flag etiquette? Before you go to the link, here's a fact to ponder. In our national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner," there's a line about looking to see if "the flag was still there" in the dawn light. That line, once its origin was explained to me, literally brought me to tears. You see, the Americans put the flag up during a night-long battle to raise morale, & to defy the British, effectively saying, "We won't stop fighting you!" By dawn, Frances Scott Key, the author of the anthem, did see the ragged flag, still flying, which so heartened him he penned the song. He was amazed it was there because the British had shot it full of holes, then shot down the staff, but it still stood. No matter how much firepower they used--our flag still, miraculously--STOOD! And do you know why? Because when the wooden staff was shot down, one by one, patriots picked up the flag, & held it up. When someone got shot, another patriot took that person's place. And so it went "through the perilous night," until the Brits could see it, & our side won. Now, here's the etiquette link: http://www.usflag.org/flagetiquette.html For a great deal more history, this time on the anthem, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner The lyrics & other neat stuff are there, plus a photograph of the inspiration of the anthem, the actual flag that was held up all night by such determined people. I hope this will inspire people as much as it inspired me anew to love our flag. Maggiepie "Let's save the human race, let's finish off the U.S. empire." ~ Hugo Chavez - Venezuelan Dictator (BO is a big fan of his)