Flag Etiquette

A recent letter to the editor describing some inexcusable acts of disrespect to the flag at the Highlands County Art Festival motivated me to reread a recent book titled "Flags of our Fathers," which was written about the raising of our flag during the battle for Iwo Jima, by five Marines and a sailor -- an event which is memorialized by the Marine Corps Memorial in Washington D.C.

Iwo Jima is a small island in the Pacific, whose war time importance was its small airstrip, which the military desired to assist in our air attacks against Japan. The military desired it, the Marines took it, took it with a loss of 6,825 Marines killed.

That flagraising became one of the most important symbolic events of WWII, and reflects the reverence and respect which Americans held for the flag and the millions of Americans who served in that war. The book is a fitting tribute to that event and belongs in every school and public library in our country.

Our respect for that flag should never be compromised. It has accompanied our troops in all of our wars, flies from the masts of all of our ships and drapes the coffins of American heroes; It's symbolic folding a last tribute to those heroes takes place on hallowed ground.

Although Americans are not currently permitted to view the homecoming of our departed heroes, all respect is nevertheless due to the symbol of their sacrifice.

Recently, practices have found their way into our culture which demean the flag and reflect a cynical disrespect for this symbol of our country, practices and uses which seek to exploit the flag to advance other interests and do not render the appropriate respect and reverence to which the flag is entitled.

One of these practices is the group "flagwaving" seen along U.S. 27 by groups which are ostensibly rendering honor to our returning veterans, but who in reality are using the flag as an attention-getting devise to recruit people to join their political group. One of the several signs they wave recites "Support our Troops." But others contain political slogans, like "No Amnesty" or "20 million go home."

They have even usurped the name "American" as if their party is the only one entitled to be so considered. Given the singularity of their platform, they might more appropriately call themselves the "go back where you came from party." Their use of the flag as an attention-getting devise is clearly not appropriate. Neither is it appropriate to cut up the flag and reassemble its components into tasteless sport shirts, supposedly to show that the wearer is truly patriotic. The flag is not a fashion statement.

It is the symbol of our country, which millions of Americans have served with their lives and their blood and is entitled to more respectful and thoughtful treatment.

Randy Ludacer
Lake Placid