WoodGlue wrote:
Why won't anyone answer my question about what people did before the early 1920's?
It appears the "display your flag properly" crowd is the "i'm a better patriot than you because I display the flag the "right" way"
WoodGlue
I don’t know if this answers your question or not but even though I am not a expert on this I will try… nothing I say here is directed at you or anyone else. Just what I believe and think…
it began when the Civil War veterans wanted to uphold the sacred character of the national emblem they had fought to defend…
the first efforts to restrict uses of the flag were targeted at commercial and political advertisements… still the federal government did not pass any flag desecration legislation until the 1960s, but by the early 1900s most states had adopted such laws, and in 1907 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Nebraska statute in a case against a manufacturer of “Stars and Stripes” beer…
The flag-protection movement regained national momentum during World War I, and in 1923, the first National Flag Conference was held, to establish a set of rules for civilian flag use. The U.S. Flag Code, first published in 1923 was adopted by Congress but not until 1942…
The code based on the belief that the American flag “represents a living country and is itself considered a living being”, a part of all who gave the ultimate sacrifice for it and all who served under it…
The flag and what it represents lives in your heart or it doesn’t… I don’t have the ability to judge that in anyone… I can only make assumptions based on how one treats the flag as to their sincerity… that is no different now than it has always been, even been before the code was made law and after its defeat in the court… it does and always has lived in the hearts that pay it it’s due, weather they display it or not…
The code proscribes any use of the flag that could be construed as disrespectful, including it’s use for advertising and to decorate clothing and other commercial goods,, as well as proper protocol for its display…
Unfortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down flag-protection laws as violations of free speech in 1989… IMHO a sad day for America and Americans…
the Flag Code is still maintained as a code of etiquette, enforced not by law, but by tradition, and respect…
I am not even sure the patriotism and respect for the flag are the same thing but could easily over-lap one feelings…
