July 05, 2006
Flag Epidemic: A New Disease?
From the headline, that's what one might think:
US 'flag epidemic' reaches peak on Fourth of July
It's a true epidemic: the red, white and blue, stars-and-stripes banners are everywhere in the United States - on house facades, front lawns, cars and clothes.
Hitting an high point on the July 4 US Independence Day holiday, it is a genuine phenomenon of American national pride that, inevitably, gets a good but also sometimes unwanted boost from commercial exploitation.
"It's a little strange, this obsession of the flag," French author Bernard-Henri Levy wrote after traveling across the country.
"Everywhere, in every form, flapping in the wind or on stickers, an epidemic of flags that has spread throughout the city," Levy wrote in "American Vertigo" of the riot of banners he saw.
As usual, people from other countries simply don't "get it" when it comes to Americans and their pride in their flag, a symbol of their country. And that's their problem.
To some, America might be just another place to put your feet under the table. But most of us realize how fortunate we are to live in a country in which we have the ability to make the most of our opportunities and try not to take our grace and freedoms for granted.
Flying our flag proudly is just a small part of that.
So don't worry about the opinions of snooty Europeans and a few American elitists who turn their noses up at patriotism. Fly the flag proudly...not just on July 4th, but throughout the year.
UPDATE (6:47 pm): Michelle Malkin shows some instances of French patriotism. But since these photos look like they might have been taken at sporting events, I guess that makes them OK in the eyes of Le French...
A source of pride, not embarrassment
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