How the American Flag Should Be Treated

Video Transcript

"Hi I'm Harvey Kronberg with Austin Flag and Flagpole. And of course one of the questions we get asked routinely is how the flag should be treated. And of course the single answer is respectfully. The field of stars should be always be facing on the top of the flag. If it's reversed then that becomes a distress signal. The flag shouldn't touch the ground or other objects, it's, there's an urban myth that it needs to be destroyed if it touched the ground. That's actually not part of the flag code. But needless to say you want to try and protect it from being touched on, touching on the ground. You do not want to sew other items or other designs on an American Flag that's considered desecration. It's not considered appropriate to wear the flag as a t-shirt or running shorts or something like that. That's not considered sufficiently respectful. Although lapel pins are certainly considered acceptable now. A flag needs to be in a good state of repair, with proper colors. If your flag has started to fade, then that's considered disrespectful and of course if it starts to tatter or tear, it needs to be repaired or replaced. It should always be handled respectfully when you take it down for storage purposes. For storage you don't have to fold it into a triangle, you can fold it into a rectangle. But it's best that the flag be stored dry so it doesn't stain or mildew. And keeping it in a plastic bag is probably considered appropriate. The bottom line is when ever in doubt about a flag, remember the key word is respect, so if somebody decides to use flags as part of an advertising program, I think as long as it's done tastefully it can be appropriate. Certainly we have businesses that use the flag for promotion, they are creating a landmark, but being a landmark is also considered appropriate. So just remember that the key word is always respect."