There is a Right Way to Hang the American Flag

Does one wash a US flag regularly?

Tattered-flagNot being a “flag” guy, I find it odd that the misuse of the same bugs me. Yet it does.

Purloined from Heritage.org

Which four of the following “Flag Code” rules are true?

1. Display it with the field of stars to the top left.
2. Wash it regularly.
3. If hung alongside another flag(s), it must be oriented higher than the other(s).
4. Retire it when it’s showing signs of wear and tear..
5. Unless it’s made of synthetic material, it must be brought inside in harsh weather..
6. The National Anthem must be played or sung during the raising or lowering of the flag.
7. If displayed at night, a light must illuminate the flag.

I’ll give you 24 hours or so, then post the answers. Curse me for a novice, I only got three out of the four.

Author: Roger

I'm a librarian. I hear music, even when it's not being played. I used to work at a comic book store, and it still informs my life. I won once on JEOPARDY! - ditto.

4 thoughts on “There is a Right Way to Hang the American Flag”

  1. I’ll wait for your answers (though I’m pretty sure I got them all right), because there ain’t no way, no how, I want to be on the Heritage Foundation’s mailing list! Oh well, one more web visit for you later, then! šŸ˜‰

  2. Here are the answers:
    Display it with the field of starts to the top left.
    Retire it when it’s showing signs of wear and tear.
    Unless it’s made of synthetic material, it must be brought inside in harsh weather.
    If displayed at night, a light must illuminate the flag.

  3. If you go to upper Morton Avenue in my neighborhood you’ll see two flags displayed on the houses. One is the house of an elderly vet, who hung his flag after I put one up on one of my houses at the request of a mother whose son went off to fight in Afghanistan.

    Both of these flags hang out there day and night, summer and winter, no ceremony and the lightest of maintenance. Good thing these “rules” are voluntary because if they were accompanied by fines I would never have bothered to hang the flag at all and risk punishment.

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