No more half staffing the flag. Ever.

[Conan The Librarian]

This incessant half staffing of the flag is ridiculous. If I had a business with a flag pole out front, it would never fly at half staff again.

[kennyd]

I half agree.  Half staffing for so many things takes away the meaning for the deaths that should be acknowledged.  The same goes for the ribbons tied on trees, and on the back of cars.  You can find ribbons for and against the same thing depending on the politics of the user.


I will still stand at attention with hat off for anyone's funeral procession when I chance on one.

[Doublebass73]

This incessant half staffing of the flag is ridiculous. If I had a business with a flag pole out front, it would never fly at half staff again.

I agree, it's gotten out of hand. I thought it was ridiculous that they flew the flag at half staff for the Colorado shooting victims. Yes, it was sad and tragic but more people died in America that same day at the hands of drunk drivers. Why didn't they get a half staff also? Why don't the 10,000+ drunk driving victims in America per year get half staff? Where do you draw the line?

[Spirithawk]

My pet peeve? Why not half staff for all the soldiers who have died? Most the time I see it flying at half staff I don't even have a clue why!

[finisher]

I can only agree. The overuse of this rendered honor has watered down it's significance. I have begun to associate it with bumper stickers now.


There are many forms of "flag waving" and in my opinion, to attempt to "say it all" in the space of a T-shirt or bumper sticker is to place in a small box issues that are intellectually overwhelming and beyond the comprehensive scope of the average working "Joe". The reality is that human events are just not that simple that one can sum it all up with one little catch phrase or a smart ass one lined thread post.


Everyone wants, deserves, and has a right to their voice, but to fly that "voice" flag high from such a limited and uninformed perspective is to me like waving around a loaded gun in a public place or like putting an ox cart driver in the cockpit of an F-18.


Many of us have been guilty of it for whatever the reasons; insecurity, wanting to belong or be apart of something bigger.


People take misguided and short sighted stances on many things ranging from religion to politics and all the little sub categories that are attached because it is psychologically empowering to do so.


If I truly had a working grasp of politics, economics, and the governing of the world by the powers that be, and realistically thought that I had at least a snowballs chance in hell of changing things for the sake of all mankind, I probably wouldn't be on this site writing this.


I've attempted and failed to make people understand the misuse of the symbol of our nations ideals (which are also highly relative and subjective to limited individual perceptions) and this in my mind is a relatively simple standard of flag etiquette.


So who am I to try to place in a box any issues that are simple beyond my perspective, intellectual scope and grasp. I can't remember the last time I flew anyone's flag. They are all always perceived in a different way, so what is the point.


But it did mean something to me at one time... before I put aside childish dillusions.

[Bugflipper]

 I can't remember all of them but it should be close.
Memorial Day
Pearl Harbor Day
Patriot Day
Peace Officer's Memorial Day
Armed Forces Day
Firefighter's Memorial Day
The death of Government Officials.
There may be more. Along with those we also lower the flag for the death of current or retired center employees.
Then with all the presidential orders it seems the flag has been down as much as up this year.
I have to set an alarm in my phone to remember when to put it back up. In my opinion it seems to lessen the true meaning of the flag being down. The federal mandated list of days are appropriate in my opinion. I would not even have a problem for days reserved for each branch of the military, along with Memorial Day. When I was a kid and the flag was down the Nation was in mourning for something. Now it seems it's just another day of the week. Not trying to be callous it just seems to be a bit much.

[Conan The Librarian]

From that list, only Memorial Day should be half-staffed, and that's because it's specifically a memorial to killed soldiers. The rest is just fluff, except maybe the death of a president or governor in office.

[finisher]

From that list, only Memorial Day should be half-staffed, and that's because it's specifically a memorial to killed soldiers. The rest is just fluff, except maybe the death of a president or governor in office.

**************
Yep CL, that's about how I remember it. I don't know where all that other stuff started getting tagged on the donkey tail.