Published in the April 29 – May 12, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
World War II veteran Frank Dardenelli is proud of the American flag. For him and all Americans who put their lives on the line to protect the world from fascism, that piece of cloth is a symbol of freedom. Other Americans, especially the men and women in the Armed Forces who served in war and peace time, feel the same stirring pride when they see the Stars and Stripes waving with red, white and blue glory in the breeze.
For years, Dardenelli has flown an American flag on East Dunne Avenue just outside his Jackson Meadows neighborhood. In recent months, that flag has been stolen twice, upsetting Dardenelli and many of his neighbors. A new flag will be erected that will be attached to a post cemented to the ground. Dardenelli has health issues, so his neighbor and fellow veteran Mike Parks is taking the lead on the project to make sure Old Glory is not taken a third time by the thief or thieves who commit the crime during the darkness of night.
The flag and what it stands for evokes powerful responses in most Americans. We salute it. We sing to it. At public ceremonies, a military Color Guard presents it with time-honored ritual. When immigrants become American citizens, we present them with small flags. We fly the flag at half-staff to honor recently deceased people of public prominence. We place American flags on the caskets of deceased members of the military at funerals.
The flag has been a part of iconic moments in American history. The raising of the flag at Iwo Jima by American military men, the salute by the astronauts who landed on the Moon, and the raising of the flag at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks are captured in images that convey the sense that we are a people working together to raise America’s future.
But because of the emotional power of the American flag, it has also been used to provoke anger in other Americans. People have burned the flag, spit on it and defiled it in other ways to demonstrate a sign of disrespect. Although many of us consider these actions unpatriotic, the First Amendment allows this disrespect of the flag as our right to freedom of speech.
Less blatantly, Americans use the flag in improper ways — often not intending disrespect. In the past, handkerchiefs were sold with the American flag printed on them. Perhaps the original intent was patriotic, but it’s a bit tacky to blow your nose into Old Glory. The flag has also been used for commercial purposes such as printed on the labels of cans of fruit. On the Fourth of July at barbecues after a parade, people cut slices of sheet cake made to look like the American flag with frosting. And of course, regardless of their political affiliation, it seems during election season every politician uses the American flag at speeches and conventions as a sign of their patriotism.
One trend that causes concern is the commercial use of the American flag in fashion attire. No doubt the wearers intend to show their patriotism by wearing star-spangled swimsuits, shorts, T-shirts, and other apparel. We’ve even seen an American flag beach towel used to dry off swimmers after coming out of the water.
The United States Flag Code is a federal law with no penalty for failure to comply with it because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that punitive enforcement would conflict with the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. It documents an etiquette to proper use of the flag. One item of the code goes: The flag should not be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery, or for covering a speaker’s desk, draping a platform, or for any decoration in general (exception for coffins).
No doubt stealing the American flag posted by a proud World War II veteran is another sign of disrespect.
We hope the person or persons who stole the flags has the decency to return them to Dardenelli. We also hope that with National Flag Day coming up June 14, we as a community might show solidarity with Dardenelli and join him in his pride in America by raising Old Glory at our homes and businesses.
When we salute the flag, we are saluting ourselves. We’re the people. Long may we wave.
