Was anyone else worried ...

I heard a news report on KYW the other day that bothered me in a strange way ...

It's not that it's a big issue, really ...

But that it required a radio broadcast in power rotation [I heard it three times while driving from Blue Bell to Hatfield (i.e., in about 20 minutes)] to inform people how to "properly" hang up their flags, I thought was pretty sad.

Have we sunk so low that people don't just know anymore that if you aren't hanging the flag off a pole the stars go on the upper left??? I mean all people really need to do to figure this out is look at their Tommy Hilfiger shirts and just hang it the in same orientation, right?

Folding the flag back into that little triangle properly I understand needing instructions for ... but just hanging one off your house? (and yes, I have been seering flags displayed "backwards", so yeah, the information is needed, but still ... shouldn't people already be aware of this?

(I notice weird stuff sometimes ...)

Displaying the American flag should be relatively obvious. People should have seen it enough times in school and in the world to know that the stars are in the upper left corner. Along with the Union Jack, it's probably the most well-known flag in the world.

Originally posted by sycamore
Displaying the American flag should be relatively obvious. People should have seen it enough times in school and in the world to know that the stars are in the upper left corner. Along with the Union Jack, it's probably the most well-known flag in the world.

But you can't hang the union jack upside down ...

Basically I do understand that we live in a difficult country ... we have a flag that is (apparently, at least per that news report) difficult to hang, and a national anthem that's nearly impossible to sing ... (perhaps that's why God Bless America has become the theme song of this disaster ... although I keep expecting to see the flyers come out onto the ice everytime I hear it ...)

Now THAT'S a vivid mental image. Instead of dropping bombs, we'll send in Dave Schultz and Paul Holmgren.

jeff. Just tell Paul to imagine that Osama looks like Wayne Cashman and it'll be over in twenty minutes.

From Flag FAQ


Why is the red cross inside the white one on the Union Jack off-centered? Is it possible to fly a Union Jack upside-down?

A brief explanation: the "X" portion of the Union Jack is a combination of the Cross of St. Patrick (the red one) and the Cross of St. Andrew (the white one), plus a white fimbriation added on either side. St. Andrew's is on the right in every quarter (as you turn the flag clockwise) due to a rule of heraldry giving Scotland a position of precedence (on the right) over Northern Ireland as the more senior member of the United Kingdom. Thus, the flag is not symmetrical, and it is possible to hoist upside-down. British Scout troops are taught to look at the first quarter of the flag (in the upper hoist) and think "White on right!" in order to make sure it's raised correctly.

Being your basic, insular American Citizen ... it never occured to me that the Union Jack had an up and a down ...

Thanks for the info!