apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

are you serious?

Just a reminder if you are going to leave you flag outside: the flag is not supposed to be flown at night unless illuminated.

I think it's lovely to have a flag flying outside your home, weather permitting. And I live in Canada.

We bought an old, wool, 48 star flag because it's what would have been flying in 1914, when our house was built. The star pattern always catches people's eye because it's only slightly different from modern flags. You can see them standing on the sidewalk, wondering what it different about this flag. Good stuff.

It makes me giggle.

I find it odd. few other countries that I admire have the same flag waving fetish we do.

Great idea!

Some tips if you are going to fly the flag:
http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=cmty.leveld&did=2475

What is with you Americans and your made in China flags?

I am not an American and we do not have a flag flying in front of our place, but it IS fantastic.
What is wrong about being proud of where you come from?

I have flag nostalgia scattered throughout my home. What can I say, I love my country and it is the least I can do to show my respect to the many generations of men and women who have served to protect and defend it.

Made in China? Yup, my flag is an immigrant...

I wish more people would fly their flags of their nationalities. It seems only Central and South Americans do (and only the ones I know about). Europeans might display their flag but they always display the US flag with it. Admittedly, I haven't been everywhere in the US, and by Europeans, I mean I mainly observe this habit in Italians. I actually live near a street where I think the entire block keeps a US flag on their house all year, or only all summer at least.

Yes, we're serious. There's nothing wrong with expressing pride in our nation. It's by no means perfect, but at least we have means to correct the bad things.

We fly a flag windsock year-round. We also have an original 1776 flag, but our main flagpole came down in hard winds, and I haven't put it back up yet.

I love Matt's having a flag dating to when his house was built!

I think patriotic imagery is tacky. Let's not forget that fascist regimes love to wave their flags.

I'm officially sick of ignorant anti-American comments from people like aladywhoknows.

Italians displaying the American flag?? where?
In my experience Italians display their flags just during the world football (soccer) cup, other ways nobody really cares. (You will find more easily the rainbow-peace flag adorning windows and balconies.) I have traveled around Europe and nobody seems very fond of displaying their own flag, let alone the American one.

By Italians, I mean like at the Sons of Italy club halls, I've seen them fly both flags. I haven't seen any Italian-Americans really showing their flags at home, or almost any other nationality. I mostly see Brazil or I think Puerto Rico? It is a flag that looks very similar to other flags in Central/South America, or Texas. And there's of course the Confederate Flag; I live up north so I don't see that one, but I'm told it's somewhat popular in parts.

greyny: because apparently, fascism is all about waving flags and nothing else.

truckeekid: Wow, never thought of it that way.

I personally do not like displaying the flag because the customs and traditions that come with doing so make it impractical for a regular house. Now, people can do it and I'll be damned if I ever call you out on your mistakes. But personally, I'd rather not do it than do it improperly.

I think this post is a residue of Obama's political legacy, and why I'm glad he is in our political arena today. Less of the tired ideological arguments that link certain acts and beliefs with one political side or another. It's our country: we take pride in what we do well, and change what we do not-so-well. Nothing liberal/conservative/cosmopolitan about taking ownership of one's own identity.

Why not get past being affiliated with one nation and hang a flag that welcomes all people, like a peace or diversity flag? We don't choose what nation we are born in, why have pride in that nation? Especially with a nation that has a history of abusing its own citizens for not fitting a specific mold.

At the moment, my country supports torture, preemptive war, anti-immigrants, the rights of the rich over the poor, and patriotism has been used to get behind behind policies that have created untold misery--I could fly my vintage made-in-America flag to reclaim meaning for myself; I guess I just can't stomach the jingoism these days . . .

I fly the flag because I believe that as an American, if you don't like the way your country is behaving, you have a duty to work to change it. I have worked on local campaigns in the past, and this year I'm working at a polling place on election day. Those are my rights, and I'll be darned if I'm not going to excerise them, especially because I disagree with 99% of what has happened in the last 8 years.

I hope that everyone reading this is registered to vote this November. If not - what are you waiting for?!

I'm a harsh critic of the current presidential regime and I can provide a lengthy list of our society's flaws. Still, I get angry at people who point to those flaws as reason not to be patriotic. Our country has a long a proud history, too: how many of our grandfathers or father fought in WW!!? What about those who worked in favor of abolishing slavery, establishing civil rights, or building a system of public education? The American flag was THEIR flag, too. They continued to fly the flag while they worked to better the country.

Refusing to fly the flag--or deriding those who do--says to me that you've given up, and don't think our country is worth the bother to fix it. That's sad, and it's disrespectful towards those who have worked honorably for all that is right in the U.S.

Having said all that, I don't fly a flag for the same reason as somedudeinvicenza. I don't have the time to do it right, and don't want to break the customs. I get unreasonably upset when I see someone flying a ragged, faded old flag.

So many Americans have trouble separating love of country from love of government. Being proud to be American does *not* mean being proud of the actions of the current administration (or any number of other ugly parts of our country's past).

I do love the look of the American flag hanging in front of an older home. My grandparents have always had one, and when I worked on the Hill I had a flag flown over the Capitol in their honor and gave it to them as a 63rd wedding anniversary present. My grandparents are very liberal and very patriotic at the same time. Great comments Molly Margarita!