Fathers and flags, long may they wave
I am reminded that today, June 14, is Flag Day. So, with Father’s Day right around the corner as well, I thought I’d publish the text of a commentary I did a few years ago on NPR about flags and dads to mark the Fourth of July. (The audio is available here, for those who prefer to listen):
“What we needed, Dad said, was a flagpole.
Not one of those flimsy ones that’s just stuck on the side of the house with their puny little American flag hanging from it. What we needed was a real flagpole, a flagpole tall enough to put a real American flag rippling in the breeze where it belonged, where you had to look up at the sky to see it. And we needed to put that new flagpole right there in the middle of the yard.
So one weekend in the summer of 1967, we brought out the shovels, the concrete, the gravel. Dad and a couple of his buddies dug a deep hole and in a few hours, they had planted themselves a tall flagpole. The next morning, Dad’s color guard — me and my little brother, Alan — reported for instructions:
Raise the flag every morning. Take it down every evening. Fold it in the officially prescribed manner, and never ever allow it to touch the ground. Dad, you see, was a sergeant in the Air Force and he made sure we did it right.
We Americans love our flag. We fly it everywhere from courthouses and churches to car dealerships. We pledge allegiance to it. We sing songs about it. And this year, like every year, politicians are trying to make it a crime to burn the flag.
Personally, I burned a flag or two in my time – not in protest, though. Dad would disown me if I have ever pulled anything like that. But, you see, Dad was a stickler about retiring flags that had faded or torn. And he taught us it would be the height of disrespect to just toss an old flag in the garbage.
Instead, when Old Glory grew too worn to stay in service, we would set it afire in a solemn little backyard ceremony, then dispose of the ashes. Even today, I’m offended every time I see a tattered flag still flying. That kind of desecration, done out of apathy and neglect, bugs me a lot more than flag burning as an act of protest. Flag burners understand its real power as a symbol. Whatever you think about their judgment, they care enough to express their opinion. And apathy and neglect are far greater threats to our freedom than passion.
A couple of years ago, I happened to be in the area of our old house and I drove by to see it. A lot had changed in the neighborhood. But if you can pardon the paraphrase, the visit gave proof to my eyes that our flagpole was still there. I can’t say I was surprised. Dad always built things that last.”
– Jay Bookman
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
261 comments Add your comment
Bernie
June 14th, 2012
11:02 am
Joesph that’s great, lets see if there wives,girlfriends and children feel the same way after 4-5 deployments to Iran and Syria when Mitt sends them there. They all will be longing for the diplomacy of a real LEADER then.
They BOTH suck
June 14th, 2012
11:03 am
Peadawg
I think it is much better when the regulars mess with each other vs messing with the trolls…….
Not discounting newbies who come in and want to have some honest debate, but the negative attention craving trolls are certainly the worst……. at least their blogging persona.
Curious
June 14th, 2012
11:03 am
“Notice I didn’t say democrat.. I said liberal.. And lets be honest there’s simply not many in our fine military”
Joseph,
I’m assuming you think all Democrats are uniformly liberal. In my case and probably many others, I’m liberal about some things and conservative about others.
I was honest in my post.
the cat
June 14th, 2012
11:04 am
Brosephus-agreed.
josef
June 14th, 2012
11:05 am
ByteMe
I know what you mean. That retirement shelf just keeps growing! I have a lot on my plate that I have to read that my time for reading what I want to is limited. I do have my nightstand reading for that time at the end of the day.
Joseph
June 14th, 2012
11:05 am
Peadawg:
One thing we could all do is ignore him.
That’s not what liberals do. When they hear a different point of view which the majority of the country is starting to trend to they go wild… They simply can’t argue on substance but argue using personal attacks… I’ve proved this over and over…
Jm
June 14th, 2012
11:06 am
Ads
BSA is fine….
Bernie
June 14th, 2012
11:06 am
barking frog@10:41 am That is exactly what the “BUSINESS MAN” did, and his SONS
have followed in the footsteps of the DAD. They are too good to really fight for America, its not in their DNA.
Peadawg
June 14th, 2012
11:08 am
Joseph
June 14th, 2012
11:05 am
Bless your heart
Jm
June 14th, 2012
11:08 am
Sfd, not ads
ByteMe - Political thug
June 14th, 2012
11:09 am
Bless your heart
He thinks you’re complimenting him.
Joseph
June 14th, 2012
11:10 am
Peadawg:
Bless your heart
You are learning though… Using my line from yesterday.. Thanks for keeping up…
stands for decibels
June 14th, 2012
11:11 am
Sfd, not ads
Oh. I thought you were talking about A-Rod Derangement Syndrome, or somethin’.
Peadawg
June 14th, 2012
11:11 am
“He thinks you’re complimenting him.”
Peadawg
June 14th, 2012
11:12 am
“Using my line from yesterday..”
Granny started using that a loooooong time before you starting commenting on here, sport.
Peter
June 14th, 2012
11:12 am
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – About two-thirds of Americans believe Republican former U.S. President George W. Bush is responsible for the nation’s struggling economy, with a smaller percentage blaming Democratic President Barack Obama, a Gallup poll showed on Thursday.
About 68 percent of the more than 1,000 adults surveyed nationwide said Bush, who left office in January 2009, deserves a “moderate amount” or a “great deal” of the blame for the U.S. economic woes compared to 52 percent who pointed to his successor Obama, the poll found.
barking frog
June 14th, 2012
11:12 am
bernie 1106
looks that way for both
parties.
ByteMe - Political thug
June 14th, 2012
11:14 am
About 68 percent of the more than 1,000 adults surveyed nationwide said Bush, who left office in January 2009, deserves a “moderate amount” or a “great deal” of the blame for the U.S. economic woes compared to 52 percent who pointed to his successor Obama, the poll found.
Blaming everyone but the real culprits….
Normal Free...Pro Human Rights Thug...And liking it!
June 14th, 2012
11:15 am
Peadawg
June 14th, 2012
11:11 am
Pea,
Actually I like having Joseph around…When the sh*t in my life starts piling up and I;m getting down on life, all I have to do is think of him…then I feel better..He’s good for morale…
stands for decibels
June 14th, 2012
11:17 am
all I have to do is think of him…then I feel better..He’s good for morale…
what’s that? You’re not “foaming at the mouth” with insane liberal rage, as he likes to imagine?
Peadawg
June 14th, 2012
11:17 am
“When the sh*t in my life starts piling up and I;m getting down on life, all I have to do is think of him…then I feel better..He’s good for morale… ”
Haha…kind of like watching ‘Jersey Shore’
Soothsayer
June 14th, 2012
11:17 am
Well, we’ve got another “biggie” in the golf world this weekend — the U.S. Open.
This year it is being played at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, CA. Of course, all the greats will be there, Tiger, Phil, Rory, Graeme, Jim Furyk, etc.
You can watch today on ESPN @ 12:00 noon – 3:00 pm and NBC from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Check it out.
Joseph
June 14th, 2012
11:17 am
Peadawg:
Probably not skippy…
Joseph
June 14th, 2012
11:19 am
Peadawg:
Haha…kind of like watching ‘Jersey Shore’
Yet another den of liberalism… LOL…
Peadawg
June 14th, 2012
11:20 am
“Yet another den of liberalism… LOL…”
Umm…err…if you say so.
Normal Free...Pro Human Rights Thug...And liking it!
June 14th, 2012
11:22 am
Actually, I don’t blame G. W. Bush for what happened during his years in office. He was a tool, no better than a hammer (and just as smart) for the Neoconservatives of his Party. It wasn’t until the latter part of his last term did he realize that it was going to be his name in the history books did he try to change things…like listening to Cheney. No, old George was a sock puppet with the title of President of the United States.
And if Mitt Romney is elected, it will be more of the same.
Normal Free...Pro Human Rights Thug...And liking it!
June 14th, 2012
11:24 am
Soothsayer
June 14th, 2012
11:17 am
Sooth,
Did you hear about that 14 year old kid playing in it? Youngest ever…
Jm
June 14th, 2012
11:24 am
Sfd, ads is probably a bad affliction
But I’m not familiar with it
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
June 14th, 2012
11:26 am
Granny started using that a loooooong time before you starting commenting on here, sport.
If I’m not mistaken, Joseph was a regular at the old Luckovich blog.
Under a different no-de-blog of course.
Joe Hussein Mama
June 14th, 2012
11:28 am
Joseph — “You have never seen me write the word socialist..”
I think I JUST did. (laughing)
“You should be proud to be called a liberal…”
I’m proud I’m not on the side *you’re* on. You’re the kind of guy whose poor behavior brings his entire team into disrepute.
BADA BING
June 14th, 2012
11:30 am
Flag Day topic has degenerated into racism, so here goes.
Will the KKK offer to clean a blacktopped road?
Will they wear their white robes while they clean? Does that mean they have to stop after Labor Day?
They BOTH suck
June 14th, 2012
11:31 am
Bada
Can they start before Easter?
Stevie Ray
June 14th, 2012
11:31 am
Normal,
Not a big fan of Bush but if you are in a position to opine on his intellect, exactly what happened to the hope and change promised by the allegedly intellectual giant President Trillions? Nothing changed. If fact, when the SCOTUS comes back and reverses that piece of crap HC legislation, we will all see that President Spineless doesn’t even understand contract law…perhaps we shouldn’t expect same from untenured professor, community organizer and junior senator who didn’t finish his term…IMO, anyone who suggests that OB has done better job, all things considered, than Bush is too biased to see reality that they are all the same working withing a corrupt system..
Joe Hussein Mama
June 14th, 2012
11:32 am
Joseph — ” They simply can’t argue on substance but argue using personal attacks…”
Uh huh. So when I educated you regarding blue-slipping yesterday, you didn’t think that was substantive?
getalie
June 14th, 2012
11:32 am
Sane Americans know the economy collapsed under w’s watch and our President needs a second term to finish cleaning up their mess.
This is what the 12 cycle is all about.
Going back to another collapse or finish cleaning up the gop mess.
I am confident the American people will choose to finish cleaning up the gop mess.
carlosgvv
June 14th, 2012
11:33 am
Bernie – 10:19
You completely mis-read and mis-understood my post, just as I knew you would. First, I said nothing about flying the flag. Secondly, I said nothing about patriotism.
Our human recorded history is over 5500 years old. How many valuable lessions from this history have been lost because of book burning and flag burning little minds like yours?
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
June 14th, 2012
11:37 am
HELLLLO PUBLIC OPTION!!!
http://www.salon.com/2012/06/14/a_back_door_to_the_public_option/
Normal Free...Pro Human Rights Thug...And liking it!
June 14th, 2012
11:38 am
Stevie Ray
June 14th, 2012
11:31 am
You are conveniently forgetting “Our number one priority is making Barak Obama a one term President”, that’s why.
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
June 14th, 2012
11:39 am
Our human recorded history is over 5500 years old.
Rent “Cave of Forgotten Dreams.” There’s something like a 30,000 year jump. Blows the mind.
BADA BING
June 14th, 2012
11:41 am
Will the KKK only pick up white trash?
Have the Black Panthers offered to clean the roads?
Stevie Ray
June 14th, 2012
11:43 am
NORMAL,
How on earth is that battle cry anything new? So the DEMs didn’t want all GOP presidents to serve one term? If Romney wins, do you doubt the DEMS will have the same battle cry? Nothing has changed and I agree that President Trillions needs to go asap. He lacks vision, business acumen, and most of all, leadership skills to bring both sides of aisle together…Too bad only option is Romney…
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
June 14th, 2012
11:46 am
Oh, heck, a new WH leaked memo that will upset the unions. Just great, Obama.
Paul
June 14th, 2012
11:47 am
Joseph
“I’ve honestly never met a vet that wasn’t Conservative. ”
Well, as you don’t run in the same circles as General Wesley Clark, past USSOUTHCOM and SACEUR commander, or General Merrill McPeak, past chief of staff of the Air Force, that’s really no surprise.
You really should expand your circle of acquaintances, Joseph -
getalie
June 14th, 2012
11:48 am
finn,
The Pacific trade deal?
Joseph
June 14th, 2012
11:49 am
Joe Hussein Mama:
You argument was irrelevant because it’s a simple fact that now days the Senate and the House come up with a budget. As I proved to you with factual links.. Of course the Senate has simply not done their job.. LOL… Silly libs…
getalie
June 14th, 2012
11:50 am
joe thinks only cons are vets.
It does not get much dumber than that.
Joseph
June 14th, 2012
11:52 am
Paul:
No I don’t. Of course the only reason we know them as being “democrats” is because of their high profile positions…. Do you honestly think General Petrious, Franks, Stormin Norman, or Olie North are dems??? I don’t think so…
Bernie
June 14th, 2012
11:52 am
carlosgvv @11:33 am – Carlos I suggest you inquire and sign up for a course at your local community college on Improving your writing skills. So That way you may learn better way to convey your written opinion of your comments. I responded to what was written only..I have no way of knowing what your intentions are or you what are thinking about. Reread your comments and surely you will find a better way to express your thoughts more clearly. The problem is not with me, its what you wrote. Trust me!
Obviously you are one to do a lot of texting…I suppose!
Jay
June 14th, 2012
11:52 am
“Rent “Cave of Forgotten Dreams.” There’s something like a 30,000 year jump. Blows the mind.
Saw it in the theaters, in 3-D. Fabulous.
Sheets.
ByteMe - Political thug
June 14th, 2012
11:53 am
“getalie”?
Someone changing their name lately?
Paul
June 14th, 2012
11:53 am
Well, golly gee, Joseph, you recognize some vets are liberal and some vets are conservative.
Great insight you have there.
getalie
June 14th, 2012
11:53 am
corrupt congress failed on the budget, closing loop holes and reforming rigged systems.
joe gives his failed corrupt party a free pass and joe has no intellectual honesty like all the cons.
Joseph
June 14th, 2012
11:54 am
getalie:
joe thinks only cons are vets.
I didn’t say that. You’re just showing your liberal stupidity through and through. I said liberal. You won’t find many service members who are liberal. Look at the Gallop poll and the huge lead Romney has with vets. Proves my point… You certainly don’t have anything substantive to prove otherwise…
Joseph
June 14th, 2012
11:55 am
getalie:
The House passed a budget.. The dem lead Senate failed the American people…
getalie
June 14th, 2012
11:56 am
joe,
You can lie over at kyle’s blog but here you will be called out joe.
Can you take it or will you cut and run to kyles?
getalie
June 14th, 2012
11:56 am
joe,
The house budget failed.
Admit this fact joe.
Support Minorities
June 14th, 2012
11:57 am
This is a very informative blog about writers in the media
who have shown consistent bias and insensitivity towards minorities in their coverage of
their work.
http://conscientousethnicchris.wordpress.com/2012/06/01/biased-critic-of-the-month-michael-osullivan-of-the-washington-post/
Joe Hussein Mama
June 14th, 2012
11:58 am
Joseph — “You argument was irrelevant because it’s a simple fact that now days the Senate and the House come up with a budget. As I proved to you with factual links..”
Wrong. You asked why the Senate couldn’t pass a budget and send it to the House. Here’s why, once again:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_slipping
You have now been educated.
“Of course the Senate has simply not done their job.. LOL… Silly libs…”
The Senate can’t pass a budget and send it to the House, since the House won’t LET them. The House will simply send it back unread, as has been the House rule for many, many years.
Joe Hussein Mama
June 14th, 2012
12:00 pm
Mortgage SHEETS.
Tom Middleton
June 14th, 2012
1:31 pm
Maybe in honor of Flag Day, Jay, we should all dedicate ourselves to stopping the many Republican-led voter suppression efforts currently underway all over this country. After all, our American flag under an increasingly fascist ideology and party, will not be the sacred flag we are honoring today!
Duck Duck Gray Duck
June 14th, 2012
3:13 pm
This guy was told by his Homeowners Association that he couldn’t fly the American flag in his yard…. http://duckduckgrayduck.com/2012/06/14/this-guy-was-told-by-his-homeowners-association-that-he-couldnt-fly-the-american-flag-in-his-yard/