# Do you fly the flag? When? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-fly-the-flag-when/513624 "2009-10-13T04:41:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-fly-the-flag-when/513624/61 "2009-10-18T01:59:06Z")
So? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-fly-the-flag-when/513624/62 "2009-10-18T05:04:56Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I have a three by five footer attached to a 4x4 porch support post that flies 24/7. No biggie. My family has always had an American flag flying since I was a lad. Nothing showy, just a flag. It’s a good reminder of where we were, where we’ve been and where we are now. I would only take it down when the black helicopters and jack-booted thugs come calling. I love my country and all but I suspect that most people like me just like having it…it’s really no big deal nor is it some lame attempt to “be more patriotic than the other guy”. > > And my military upbringing and my own personal experience with the Army colors that some. The flag means something to me and to many, but it isn’t “America…Fuck Yeah!” > > Simply put, to me, it’s more about honoring the concept of the nation, the ideals it’s _supposed_ to uphold, and the many that have died trying to fulfill that vision. Nothing more, nothing less. Here’s my honest take…sorry I took so long to respond. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > No. I’m not into arm band patriotism…or any kind of patriotism, for that matter. When you wrote “arm band patriotism”, I instantly thought Nazism. Apparently that wasn’t your intention. Sorry. > [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Hey! That’s insulting to people like me that fly the flag for my own reasons, none of which encapsulate your thinly veiled attempt to equate flying the flag with Nazism. > > It’s becoming harder and harder to believe that you actually served in our armed forces with an open mind. Sorry! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-fly-the-flag-when/513624/63 "2009-10-18T05:08:15Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > …he’s a great guy, just a Southern patriot and I think a bit homesick. Nothing nefarious, and I am not offended by either’s choice You can’t be a “Southern patriot”. You can be a patriot from the South, but this guy doesn’t seem to meet that definition. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-fly-the-flag-when/513624/64 "2009-10-18T23:47:55Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The Confederate flag is, by definition, anti-American. I don’t know what a “Southern patriot” is. The south isn’t a country. > [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > As far as I know, such a form of protest is still legal. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You can’t be a “Southern patriot”. You can be a patriot from the South, but this guy doesn’t seem to meet that definition. He’s an Austonian, so that should both clear it up and exonerate him. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-fly-the-flag-when/513624/65 "2009-10-19T04:22:32Z")
Ah, Austonia. I went there for my honeymoon. Beautiful culture. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-fly-the-flag-when/513624/66 "2009-10-19T06:07:24Z")
I fly it on the 4th of July, and when I have political signs in my yard - mostly to try to connect Democratic yard signs with patriotism. I suppose I could run a copy of the Bill of Rights up the flagpole, but it would be harder to read. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-fly-the-flag-when/513624/67 "2009-10-19T06:16:13Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > The flag wavers are usually loud, ignorant, bigoted types advertising themselves with a sticker on their car that says something along the lines of _Australia… Love it or f\*\*k off_. Nice people. This is _exactly_ why I don’t fly an Australian flag. Not that I would anyway, because I’m not a patriotic person at the best of times. But even on Australia Day, the above reminds me why I’m not going to fly an Australian flag. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-fly-the-flag-when/513624/68 "2009-10-19T09:22:29Z")
Not doing something because other people do it is exactly the same as doing something because other people do it. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-fly-the-flag-when/513624/69 "2009-10-19T11:33:38Z")
My husband flies an American flag and an MIA/POW flag. I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-fly-the-flag-when/513624/70 "2009-10-19T13:11:37Z")
I fly a flag in front of my house. Sure, some of the people flying a flag are idiots but the flag doesn’t belong to them. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-fly-the-flag-when/513624/71 "2009-10-19T19:11:09Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > …Simply put, to me, it’s more about honoring the concept of the nation, the ideals it’s _supposed_ to uphold, and the many that have died trying to fulfill that vision. Nothing more, nothing less. I agree with this, and would add that the historical resonance of flags has also appealed to me since I first learned about them in Boy Scouts. I have a number of replica historic flags that I fly from time to time; right now my house sports the Guilford Courthouse flag, which is pretty funky: [Guilford Courthouse flag - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilford_Courthouse_flag) Other favorites of mine include the Ft. Sumter flag ([Fort Sumter Flag - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Sumter_Flag)), the Easton flag ([Flag of Easton, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easton_flag)), the Serapis flag ([Serapis flag - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serapis_flag)), the Green Mountain Boys’ flag ([Flag of the Green Mountain Boys - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_Green_Mountain_Boys)), and the so-called Betsy Ross flag ([Betsy Ross flag - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsy_ross_flag)). Flags make me happy, too. There’s a lot of history and symbolism packed into a small piece of fabric. But I would never fault anyone for choosing not to display a flag. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-fly-the-flag-when/513624.md?page=3)