What Not To Wear

I seem to be living in a time were fewer and fewer people have a point of view similar to mine. It's not that I'm a radical thinker or have a myopic view that can't be influenced by facts. I think it's at least partly because I love history and pay attention to the changes, subtle and otherwise, that take place in our society. There are many changes that have affected our society for the better and others that have faded into near obscurity.


I think the way that we treat the American flag has changed pretty drastically over the last 30 to 40 years. When I was growing up I don't remember seeing people wear flag t-shirts, hats or pants much less seeing people draping themselves in the flag. If it did happen, it was seen as disrespectful. In one notable instance, in 1968, the year I was born, Abbie Hoffman was arrested and jailed for wearing a shirt that appeared to be made of an American Flag. Just to be clear, I think arresting someone for wearing the flag is overboard. In 1970 Hoffman appeared on the Merv Griffin Show. At one point he removed his jacket and underneath was the American Flag shirt. This was not a live broadcast and rather than notify the police or escalate the situation, the network masked the shirt so that it could not be seen when it was broadcast. For those of you too young to know who Abbie Hoffman was, he was an anti-war, political protester and activist during the Vietnam War era.

In 1984 a man burned the American Flag at the Republican National convention and was subsequently arrested. This ended up going to the supreme court and was found to be an expression of first amendment rights. At the time there were 48 states that had laws against desecrating the flag. It was a very controversial decision at the time but has since turned into something that barely gets noticed today. If you hadn't guessed yet, I think the flag is something to be revered and that when someone burns it, they are trying to incite rather than communicate.


After the 2004 Super Bowl, there was an uproar regarding the "wardrobe malfunction" that occurred during the half-time show. This was in the national news for weeks and is still talked about today occasionally. The thing that isn't talked about anymore is Kid Rock's performance where he wore, what appeared to be, an actual American Flag. During the performance Kid Rock removed it and a band-mate dropped it on the drum riser. Yes, technically that is not on the ground but it certainly does not show reverence for the flag. Part of the issue is that the flag was cut so that it could be worn like a poncho and then unceremoniously dumped next to the drums. The VFW and American Legion and various Members of Congress, complained about the performance and those stories were carried by some local media and newspapers but I do not recall this being mentioned on the national level.


More recently you can see people wearing the flag and it rarely gets any kind of notice. Shirts, pants, shoes, bathing suits, towels, and pretty much anything that can be printed with a likeness of the Stars and Stripes. I tried to find a video clip that I saw recently. It was a video clip of a locker room celebration and one of the athletes had stripped down to his American Flag underpants and he was being sprayed with champagne. I don't think this shows reverence for the flag, it trivializes it.


If you were to read the US Flag Code (yes, I am one of those people that read things like the Flag Code and US Constitution) it states how to display the flag and advises of appropriate uses for the flag. In section 8 it states: The flag should never be used as wearing apparel. The thing that is kind of odd to me is that if you go to the American Legion website under the Flag Advocacy section it states that "Unless an article of clothing is made from an actual United States flag, there is NO breach of flag etiquette whatsoever". I agree that an actual flag should not be used for clothing, however, I also believe this includes using an image of the flag. If this were not the case then why go through the additional clarifications in section 8 regarding not using the flag for advertising, costumes, uniforms or temporary items. All it would have to say is "Don't use an actual flag and you're good". Additionally, if you review Section 3 it states that "the flag", as referred to in the code is not just a physical flag but also a representation of the flag. In my experience the key to understanding a contract or law lies in also understanding the definitions of all the elements.

The words "flag, standard, colors, or ensign", as used herein, shall include any flag, standard, colors, ensign, or any picture or representation of either, or of any part or parts of either, made of any substance or represented on any substance...

The above is only part of that section, truncated for the sake of brevity.


This all indicates to me that wearing the flag, or a representation, is not appropriate based on the US Flag Code, however, that is not the end all and be all to me. I am not the type of person to look for permission to do anything based on the approval of the local or federal government. The flag code does, however, provide a context for my own personal belief. It is important to show reverence for the flag because it symbolizes the spirit of the American People. The kind of spirit that has overcome all manner of adversity, even adversity brought on by our own leadership at times. Wearing the flag does not show reverence. Wearing the flag is a flashy kind of patriotism, in that it is meant to convey patriotism without having to observe any of the contexts of the wearer's actions. Patriots don't need to wear the flag because their actions display their patriotism.



Link to US Flag Code at the Cornell Law School