Meet the Flag Code
The BBC has a useful backgrounder on the subject of US “flag etiquette” which we’ve been puzzling over lately. It’s good to get it from the Beeb, as a neutral party.
The Flag Code covers all aspects of etiquette in relation to the Stars and Stripes, including how to behave when the anthem is played. The code is never enforced, however, and there is no punishment for breaching it.
The link is to a government site. What the government is doing issuing etiquette codes that aren’t enforced, I don’t really understand.
What to do if someone picks the Flag Song on the jukebox?
The code states that persons present are expected to stand and face the flag, if there is one. Civilians should stand to attention with right hand over heart, while military personnel in uniform and veterans should salute throughout. A recent amendment to the code said that military personnel out of uniform could also salute.
So it’s actually codified somewhere that we are supposed to put our hands on our chests when we hear that tune. I did not know that. I say it’s none of their business.
How long has the Flag Code been around?
Experts say that US flag etiquette is important because [it] was created out of respect for the country’s historical heritage.
But the code was first drawn up only in 1923 under the auspices of the American Legion, and only became law when the US was at war, in 1942.
The American Legion isn’t the boss of us.
Now the law, in 1942…I sort of get that, up to a point. In 1942 they didn’t know that Hitler would fail. They thought it was a lot more likely than it was before Germany invaded Russia and before Pearl Harbor, but they didn’t know. That was scary. I sort of get the urge to do everything they could think of to make sure Hitler failed, including motivational inspirational patriotic flapdoodle. But the fact remains that it’s none of their business. And it’s not 1942 now.
Is respect really respect if it’s mandated and required by law? True respect is spontaneous, and earned.
There’s a lot of stuff in the Flag Code that gets violated every day. It’s not supposed to be an ad, it’s not supposed to be flown in the rain or after dark unless it’s illuminated, it’s supposed to be kept in good repair. Not surprisingly, I seldom see conservatives calling anyone out for these lapses.
The existence of the New England Patriots’ iconography is already a straight-up violation of the flag code, as are all those Murika flag shirts, etc…
I was aware of a flag etiquette because some veterans’ organization distributed a booklet in my elementary school and because some of the principles were taught to us as Girl Scouts. Our following the rules, i.e. that scouts in uniform were supposed to give a military salute, led to a mild controversy. Our school principal, perhaps put off by the sight of children in green berets saluting the flag, ordered that while in school, we were to give the civilian salute. Thus, I learned that the rules were mutable.
As I recall it, we were instructed not to put our hands over our hearts during the national anthem, so I have always been puzzled by criticism of people for merely standing at attention. I wonder when that was added.
As for the Pledge, my mother instructed me never to say the words “under God” when reciting it, because they had been imposed on the original text by McCarthyite Christianists. I haven’t always done what my mother asked, but in this case I have followed instructions.
iknklast, I’ve always had the same (no doubt naive) thought about laws motivated by religion. If standards for religious practice are enacted as laws, then people will act out those standards under threat of punishment, rather than out of a sincere belief that they are a good/proper way to live. As someone raised Catholic (albeit in a relatively liberal setting), I was always taught that it actually mattered what was in your heart (often more than what you actually did). The idea that it is virtuous to act a certain way just so that you won’t get in trouble has never made any sense to me.
Interesting, the mindset that opposes “desecrating” a piece of cloth but is okay with torturing a flesh and blood human being.
That’s because the desecration is done in the name of the flag…
Hmm. That’s interesting
I’m familiar with the code from living in military housing. You can bet it’s “policed” by my neighborhood. Since morning and evening colors are broadcast over loudspeakers (much like the “call to prayer” in some countries) all vehicles are expected to pull over and wait until the music ends. Some bases even expect the driver to get out of the car and salute the flag.
Even if you can’t see a flag, if you are within audible distance of the song, you are expected to stop and salute/hand over heart.
You won’t get in legal trouble if you don’t, but you will most certainly hear about it. As a “military dependent”, it’s entirely possible that my spouse could enjoy the privilege of discussing my behavior with their boss, too.
I remember in the 60s when the older conservatives were upset by liberal hippies wearing flag emblazoned clothing, and now flag clothing is the province of conservatives. Of course, the hippies were wearing flags ironically and out of disrespect, while the conservative flag wearers of today intend it as a display of patriotism.
In 1942, there was no ‘under god’ pledgin’ going on.