[Martin Tell]

I'm all for freedom of expression and I know those who put up the yellow ribbons mean well, but personally, I don't like 'em. They seem too, well, Carteresque, reminding me of Amercia's helplessness during the Iran hostage crisis. Yes, let's go for red, white and blue, but can we can the yellow ribbons? Never cared for the song, either.

[Fester Chugabrew]

"They seem too, well, Carteresque, reminding me of Amercia's helplessness during the Iran hostage crisis."

Ha! When I first saw the title I thought it was true patriots who were keeping the yellow ribbons down, as if to say, "We know you're over there to do the job, and it's not quite time to come home yet. We will wait patiently while supporting you with our hopes and prayers." It's too early for yellow ribbons, IMO. In fact, this kind of symbolism-lite is lost on me.

[valleygal]

From what I understand from the local radio discussion tonight, the original song is an army song. Not the Tony Orlando and Dawn one.

They've been doing this since the Civil War, evidently.