Flag Day

Today in the USA it's Flag Day.

When I was a kid the American flag only had 48 stars, so you can tell I'm old.

In school we saluted the flag as we said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang America the Beautiful every morning. (The Star Spangled Banner required greater voice range than most kids had.)

Many schools still say the pledge, but public schools, at least those in my state, no longer allow a song that mentions God because of separation of church and state.

Back then we were taught that the American flag should never be up outdoors after dark, or during rain or snowy weather. Schools, Girl and Boy Scouts and military bases had flag raising and lowering ceremonies at the beginning and ending of each day.

The reason flags were lowered when it was dark or stormy is because they were made of fabrics like cotton and would become damaged easily. When synthetic materials like polyester became available flags made of those things could be safely left outside in all kinds of weather. That's why they don't get lowered and raised all the time anymore.

But one tradition should be kept and often isn't. We were taught that the American flag should never be allowed to touch the ground. Of course aflag should be kept clean and touching the ground, even on pavement or floors, it's likely to gather dirt.

After the terrorist attack of September 11th, 2001 millions of Americans displayed flags. I was sorry to see lots of them draped over the hoods of parked cars and trucks with the edges dragging in driveways, and displayed in other places where they would get dirty.

Flags that are torn or dirty shouldn't be displayed. That's basic manners.