Flying Other Flags on July 4th

[Hemidakota]

which flag did you fly though?

US with the British on the 4th...

[Elgama]

US with the British on the 4th...

Ahh so the Union Jack and not the St George's Flag lol I highly doubt anyone here would have been that concerned, Missionaries often have an American Flag in their window:) but its like my husband asked how our flag was properly disposed of lol my answer was probably being washed out to sea when the tide takes your sandcastle away:)

Not sure how just flying your own nations flag and actually celebrating the freedom and independence of the country you live in is that disrespectful certainly no more disrespectful than American's calling our country England:)

[Wingnut]

Now, where in the world did a state become involve here? Please stick with the OP topic. It is dealing with countries and flying a foreign flag. There is no comparison here in trying to call an apple a orange or orange an apple.

It's a perfect comparison, and it worked well with the OP. It was neither off-topic nor nonsensical.

[prisonchaplain]

Since we are all just pilgrims passing through, would it be so bad to fly my citizenship flag on the 4th of July or the 5th of May?

http://ts3.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=147106699786&id=a85654c87e9af00a0de60c784f4c60fb&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.hillviewcommunitychurch.com%2fphotos%2fborders%2c%2520backgrounds%2c%2520misc%2fchristian%2520flag.jpg

[Daniel2020]

Patriotism = love for or devotion to one's country. (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

Nationalism = loyalty and devotion to a nation; especially a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups. [Emphasis mine.] (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

Militarism = predominance of the military class or its ideals; exaltation of military virtues and ideals; a policy of aggressive military preparedness. (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

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Most of what I’m reading above is nationalism, not patriotism. Many or most nationalists are also militarists. Nationalists and militarists always hide behind patriotism. (Oppose a war—any war—and watch them label you as being unpatriotic.)

If you love and are devoted to more than one city nobody feels offended or threatened. Except sports fanatics who, at a local level, behave like nationalists do on the international level.

There is nothing any more incompatible with loving and feeling devoted to more than one nation than there is to having those feelings for more than one city—unless you are nationalist. Again, nationalism is “exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests.”

A patriotic member of Nation A would not be offended, threatened, etc. by somebody flying the flag of Nation B on the independence day of Nation A. But a nationalist (and/or militarist) would because, once again, at its core nationalism is “exalting one nation above all others,” not just feeling "love for or devotion to one's country."

Edited July 6, 2010 by Daniel2020

[not_ashamed]

I completely agree with Hemi, there is nothing wrong with flying the flag of your homeland. However, do it along side the flag of the country in which you live. Its about respect to the citizens and the country. I think it's important that people are proud of their heritage and mindful of just where it is they come from. There is nothing wrong with being proud of your culture, as a matter of fact you should be.

Just look at me, I'm a backwoods country girl. I live in a town where the local high school has drive your tractor to school day and MOST kids actually have one to drive there. This is where I was raised, it's where i'm from. I take pride in that. As difficult as that can sometimes be

[Voyager]

Okay, my take. If I flew an American flag and a Scottish flag together on the 4th. to me that would show patriotism plus connection to my roots. The same would be true for a Danish flag and an American flag. So no problem with an Italian flag if it flies with an American. A Mexican flag WITH an American flag would be okay. A Mexican flag alone sounds like reconquista.

[Bluejay]

Hi, Hemidakota.

They need to remember' date=' as those who live in this land, by flying another set of colors, if you love that country that much, why do you still live here?[/quote']

That's kind of like saying if I love San Diego so much why do I stay in Utah?

Now' date=' where in the world did a state become involve here? Please stick with the OP topic. It is dealing with countries and flying a foreign flag. There is no comparison here in trying to call an apple a orange or orange an apple.[/quote']

I think the basic point---that love of a certain region (be it a city or nation) isn’t the only factor in deciding where one lives---still stands.

Sure, it’s common sense to avoid offending the neighborhood (or city or country) you live in, but it’s also common sense for the neighborhood to not take offense at things that don’t really do any harm to anybody. Both of these are important skills in achieving and maintaining peace and friendship between people.

[Suzie]

I woke up this morning and noticed our neighbours flying an Italian flag outside their house. They're nice people but isn't that a bit of a social etiquette violation? It just seems inappropriate, especially, on America's Independence Day. You'd have to have a lot of audacity to fly an American flag in some countries on any day. But on the flip side, freedom is what makes America a great place and I suppose you can't blame people for having pride in where they came from. Even if the day they choose to show that pride lands on July 4th.

Thoughts?

That's pretty strange of your neighbors to put the flag particularly on Independence's Day unless they always had the Italian flag outside their house? Let's not forget that the US is a country made of immigrants (I think many times we forget that) and many feel proud of their heritage, there is nothing wrong with that. Maybe if they are newly immigrants, they miss home, who knows.

[Guest]

I go with Elgama -

The neighbors were flying their country's flag for the World Cup. There are a few of them in my neighborhood as well. They don't realize the implications of it to US citizens. The "normal" symbolism of staking a flag over a piece of property is to declare that property's affiliation. So, if you stake an Italian flag on your front yard, you inadvertently declared your property subject to Italy. You know, like when a country goes to war to colonize another, they send in their military and when the place is secured, they plant the flag to claim ownership.

What my neighbors are doing is the same thing as putting the blow-up Georgia Bulldogs football player on their front yard in a Florida Gators town. You will never see the Gator on their front yard "out of respect".

A flag, though, is different because it is a universal symbol of the country's government. So, they just need to realize that.

Legally, each State has different laws regarding flying foreign flags. For example, it is illegal in New Jersey to fly a foreign flag without the American flag. And the American flag has to be to the right of the foreign flag. It is illegal in most States to fly a foreign flag that America is at war with, etc.

July 4th is also Filipino-American friendship day (it's "hug a Filipino day" in my ward - there are several Filipinos in there). America officially handed the government over to the Filipinos on July 4, 1946. I fly both Filipino and American flags in my house in Florida that day - I might not be doing it "properly" because I have these little flags that I line my front yard with alternating between American and Filipino flags. But, unlike New Jersey, Florida doesn't have a "no foreign flag" law.