Recently in the media there has been a good amount of controversy surrounding the etiquette of the American Flag. In June 2023, the Biden Administration celebrated pride month by displaying a pride flag flanked by two American Flags, but this gesture of solidarity caused major online backlash. Fox News reported that the angry twitter users accused Biden of breaking the America Flag code which requires the U.S. flag to always be presented in the center of any other flags. Fox continues by citing the specific code that had been broken; Flag Code §7. (e). This code, according to Cornell Law School, states: “The flag of the United States should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags… are grouped and displayed from staffs.” However, according to the Flag Code website, this is only the case when displaying flags indoors. The Flag Code states, for outdoor displays, that “[w]hen flown with flags of states, communities or societies on separate flag poles which are of the same height and in a straight line, the flag of the United States is always placed in the position of honor—to its own right.” The Biden Administration placed one American Flag on each side of the pride flag so that people looking at the flags from either direction would see an American Flag on the right side, therefore adhering to the Flag Code.
Another example of a flag etiquette misconception was the controversy of Colin Kaepernick protesting the flag during the National Anthem. When Kaepernick first decided to protest, he sat on the bench while the rest of the players and crowd members stood for the National Anthem. This led to an uproar from the media, sports broadcasters, social media, and even other players. Many people were furious and believed that Kaepernick was disrespecting the flag and others were generally just upset at the idea of the protest. One of these critics was former NFL player and member of the U.S. Army, Nate Boyer. Nate told BBC that he was originally very upset with Kaepernick’s protest, that was until Boyer realized that protesting is one of the fundamental freedoms that he himself fought for and he decided to reach out. Kaepernick and Boyer met and Boyer educated himself on the reasons for Colin’s protest and Kaepernick educated himself on the most respectful and peaceful way to protest the flag. The two settled on an agreement and at his next game, Kaepernick knelt during the National Anthem alongside a standing Nate Boyer with his hand over his heart. What many people failed to realize about Colin Kaepernick’s protest of the flag was that he was using his fundamental right, given to him by the legislature of the United States, to protest our government.
In both the case of the Biden Administration and Colin Kaepernick, their critics accused them of violating the symbol of our freedom and our nation, however these critics were not truly educated on the Flag Codes and etiquette. In fact, many people who strongly opposed both of these displays of alleged flag disrespect, break many of these Flag Codes daily. Some examples of commonly violated codes are:
- “The flag should not be used as “wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery”, or for covering a speaker’s desk, draping a platform, or for any decoration in general (exception for coffins).”
- “The flag should never be used for any advertising purpose. It should not be embroidered, printed, or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes, or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use. Advertising signs should not be attached to the staff or halyard.”
- “The flag should not be draped over the hood, top, sides, or back of a vehicle, railroad train, or boat.”
- “The flag should never have placed on it, or attached to it, any mark, insignia, letter, word, number, figure, or drawing of any kind.”
These codes are broken every day by people of all walks of life. It is rare to make it through the day without seeing a flag being worn on a t-shirt or being used in a company logo or marketing campaign. It has also become very common for people to attach the flag to their vehicles and for people to modify the flag. Furthermore, there is not a single Flag Code that prohibits the protest or burning of the flag. In fact, there is a code that encourages the flag be burned when it “is so tattered that it can no longer serve as a symbol of the United States.”
The American Flag is a long-standing symbol of freedom and the sacrifices made for that freedom and it deserves to be respected and treated properly. However, using flag etiquette as a scapegoat to sow negativity towards a group or person is anti-American and limits the freedoms of others.