Victore,

It's really too bad the military gets put in the position of swearing to defend the Constitution then has to serve under CICs like Bush and Obama who have little regard for the Constitution. They also "served" under that flag, which is why it's so important to lead with your principles and rely less on symbols -- whether it be a flag or a political party.

Pilot,
I will have to agree with you to a point, but my father told me over 40 years ago that the big 3 auto makers would go under because of the unions, and they would benefit them self’s right out of a job. Damn he was right!

BS, we can’t give up on “HOPE”, if we have to fight again for the Old Gal flying in the wind, I will do it again, I be damned if the “LEFT” or any other element it be foreign or other wise, is going take a anymore of my liberties, I still believe in and respect the “AMERICAN FLAG” for what it stands for. I severed under that Flag and I done so proudly.

Victore says: "The American Flag is a beacon of Freedom."

If you think we're free, there's nothing to discuss. If you think our liberties are diminished, you should understand the meaning of my comments. I'm suggesting we should feel ashamed to raise that flag while letting an Authoritarian State grow up around us.

BSspotter,

If I follow you thoughts correctly then you don't think the flag should be flown, because of the state America has come to be. But if we do that then what the flag represents will not be there to remind anyone of what we once were and could be again.

BS,
I’m not sure as to your meaning of the flag as an empty gesture, along with the word “incongruent,” are you saying it is not appropriate to fly the flag? If that is the case I totally disagree agree with you. The American Flag is a beacon of Freedom.

oxymoron,

Do you think our government respects the principles the flag should represent? Do you think the flag should fly over buildings in which our government has exponentially grown and morphed itself into a state of no longer supporting the principles the flag should represent?

The flying of the flag is an empty gesture if the flag's meaning is incongruent to the state of the nation. This only perpetuates the myth that we're free. I could get behind flying it upside down to show distress.

There's no denying that the flag still represents our country's defining founding principles, but also I see it as a symbol of complacency & ignorance in those who view it as an indication of being free.

Perhaps I'm alone in my thinking.

Since we have a volunteer armed forces, that line that you had to have served, in order to respect the American flag will go by the wayside. I don't see where it has any relevance in the first place.

Who said that the young people do not respect the American flag? One person's perception does not make it a reality. When I go to sporting events, I see young and old alike, removing their hats, and placing their hands over their hearts and some are even singing the National Anthem. Now, I don't take headcount because one event does not make a patriot.

No one has a corner on patriotism, respect for the American flag , what it it does or does represent or definition thereof.

e pluribus unum

BSspoter,

When people talk about respecting the flag they are talking about what it represents. That is why the flag means so much to people, because of what it represents. When I salute the flag, thats all you see and that is what your attacking, my respect to an empty symbol. What you don't see is what the flag represents to me and the reason why I am saluting it.

I guess next you will be telling people to stop praying to a cross. People do not pray to the cross, they pray to what it represents. That Jesus died for us and our sins.

Anytime there is a symbol that represents something, it is what it represents and not the symbol that earns the respect. Stop all your semantic arguments and understand that when I hold our U.S. flag in respect it is what it represents that I am respecting and not the flag itself. Same with the cross, the bible, the Texas flag, and any other symbol that hold meaning for me.

I prefer that our kids be taught to respect the principles the flag represents. To date, the flag has flown over a creeping regression into authoritarianism. Should we really respect an empty symbol?

KUDO'S to the 5 year old. keep up the good work!!!!

All of my children from the oldest who is 26 to the youngest who is 5 have been taught to respect our flag. My 5 year old has even reached over and tapped a young man on the the arm at a resent Memorial Day event and said, "Hey dude, loose the hat, thats our flag!"
The young man who was maybe 17 looked at my daughter like she'd lost her mind while she stood with her hand on her hip giving him "THE LOOK", then yanked off his cap and held it to his chest. He was rewarded with a huge grin and a thumbs up from my 5 year old.