Maria Benitez and her dog Maggie ride in the Fourth of July parade held at Palm Valley, Texas, Tuesday, July 4, 2006. (AP Photo/Lynn Hermosa)
Posted on 07/04/2006 5:54:22 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) - It's a true epidemic: the red, white and blue, stars-and-stripes banners are everywhere in the United States - on house facades, front lawns, cars and clothes.
Hitting an high point on the July 4 US Independence Day holiday, it is a genuine phenomenon of American national pride that, inevitably, gets a good but also sometimes unwanted boost from commercial exploitation.
"It's a little strange, this obsession of the flag," French author Bernard-Henri Levy wrote after traveling across the country.
"Everywhere, in every form, flapping in the wind or on stickers, an epidemic of flags that has spread throughout the city," Levy wrote in "American Vertigo" of the riot of banners he saw.
"Old Glory," as the US flag is affectionately called, can be seen in abundance through the year in the American heartland and the South, and to a lesser extent in cities like New York and Los Angeles.
Patriotic flag-waving strengthened in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and increased even more with the beginning of the war in Iraq as a testament of support for President George W. Bush.
But the phenomenon hits its peak each year around the Fourth of July, when it becomes the focus of intense advertising and commercial promotions.
At shopping malls, big and small national banners show up on jeans, baseball caps, dinner plates and swimsuits. The Stars and Stripes decorate everything -- from tattoos and fingernails to huge cakes.
The flag also pops up on lawns and balconies, sometimes to the ire of local residents. In the Washington suburbs of Bethesda and Chevy Chase, real estate agencies stick plastic signs adorned with the flag next to people's front porches and stuff mailboxes with flag-adorned advertising materials.
Such tactics have sparked controversy in Maplewood, a Bethesda neighborhood, where some 20,000 such flags have been distributed under the so-called "flag project" over the past 15 years.
"They send fliers so people think how patriotic they are," Mary Rainey complained to AFP. "Our flag doesn't deserve that. It's extremely inappropriate. The flags are in the gutter, yesterday my car rode over one, so did the car behind me."
"If they don't like it, put in the trash. We don't force anybody," retorted Jane Fairweather, a real estate agent who participates in the project. "It's only a good-will gesture... Just a celebration of America," she said.
But like other residents of Maplewood, Rainey, who advertises her own patriotism on her home's facade "365 days out of 365 days" of the year, complains the flag is being left on properties in violation of rules.
An official federal government code sets very specific rules on how the US flag should be handled. The national banner cannot be thrown on the ground, hung upside down, torn or allowed to become dirty.
It must be illuminated in nighttime and, the code says, cannot be used as a prop for advertising activities.
However, there is no sanction for violating these rules. The Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that freedom of expression guaranteed by the US constitution includes the right to burn the flag, an act frequently observed during protests against the Vietnam War.
Last week, the US Senate barely rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that could have led to criminal penalties for desecrating of the flag.
"I doubt very much that it is the end of the story," said William Galston, an analyst with the Brookings Institution.
"Global public opinion surveys regularly put Americans at the top of the patriotism index," Galston told AFP. "The US flag is the visible symbol of that strong sentiment... Even our national anthem is about the flag."
Maria Benitez and her dog Maggie ride in the Fourth of July parade held at Palm Valley, Texas, Tuesday, July 4, 2006. (AP Photo/Lynn Hermosa)
I love America.
Any suggestions?
Master of Ceremonies Tim Stickney looks on as he waits for a slow float during a Fourth of July parade Tuesday, July 4, 2006, in Key Biscayne, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Diane Ribeiro of Bristol, R.I., right, and Dennis Soares of Tiverton, R.I. walk down Hope Street in Bristol, R.I. before the start of the Bristol Fourth of July Parade, Tuesday, July 4, 2006. (AP Photo/Joe Giblin)
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito speaks in front of Independence Hall as part of the Let Freedom Ring Fourth of July celebration in Philadelphia, Tuesday, July 4, 2006. (AP Photo/Mark Stehle)
"It's a little strange, this obsession of the flag," French author Bernard-Henri Levy wrote after traveling across the country.
Note to Monsieur Levy: We are proud of our country, even though the liberals are trying to make us like your country. Not going to happen! Not now, not ever. Because Socialism decays - always has, always will. And some of us will fight that until it attains the very timely and appropriate death it deserves.
Yo Frenchie! If you are going to tell me that France doesn't have their flag adorning almost every nook and cranny (muslim neighborhoods excluded) then you are a liar.
This is not an article - it is an opinion piece cloaked as informal journalism like the travel story in the NYT about Rummy and Cheney's houses, locations, roads leading to, hidden cameras etc.
Last - gag with a spoon about flag ettiquette - you have to love your country before you can ever show proper respect for the US Flag.
We fly a total of four flags, each and every day, at our home in Orange County. Two in front and two in back. Many of the neighbors fly at least one flag.
U.S. President George W. Bush speaks to U.S. troops and their families on Independence day at Fort Bragg in North Carolina July 4, 2006. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES)
Any suggestions?
Donate to the DAV. I have been a regular donor and they sent me a real nice flag sticker that actually clings to the inside of your back window. I've had mine on for 2 years now and no fading. Of course one should donate to the DAV for the good of our vets but that's just one of the perks they sent me.
G-d bless America......... long may Old Glory wave!!!!
Oh, boy! Someone is in trouble tomorrow when he gets in to work!
The other day, I was at an event where we were singing 'America the Beautiful' and I only got halfway through the first part and I was too choked up to sing. Yes, the Anthem does it to me, too. That kills me because I want to belt them out.
I noticed, since I made a point of checking their home page to see if they'd acknowledge the holiday.
Yea, well they still have "failure" programmed to go to GWB's bio when you hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button. They're still creeps.
Yeah...I logged onto them about 11:30 EDT...there was nothing on their logo.I suspect they noticed that their competitors had 4th graphics.Also, they might have gotten complaints, though I doubt they would have responded to them.Typically, they had femmie little kitties cavorting about.An American bald eagle with Old Glory in his talons would be appropriate.;-)
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