When I was in 6th grade, I was one of the two kids assigned to run the Stars and Stripes up the flag pole in the morning and take it down at the end of the school day. We were taught how to fold and handle the flag, and the most important rule was that it must never, ever touch the ground. That’s disrespectful to everyone who has ever fought and died for our country.
That was a long, long time ago, but I’ve never forgotten. And that’s why the following story just makes me sad. Todd Starnes reports:
HGTV viewers are expressing outrage after the network suggested they use American flags as table cloths for Fourth of July celebrations. Many viewers called it offensive, un-American and an insult to the American military…
The HGTV website featured a segment titled, “Classic Fourth of July Table Setting Ideas.”The photographs show bowls of fruit and a jar of lemonade sitting atop Old Glory. They called the flag an “unconventional table” linen…
On Wednesday HGTV removed a link to the page and issued an apology.
“This was a regrettable use of our flag and it never should have happened,” HGTV said in a statement to Fox News. “We sincerely apologize and have removed the post from our website. We want to assure our fans that HGTV is proud of the American flag and everything it symbolizes for our people.”
That’s just revolting. If you think otherwise, if you think it’s just a piece of cloth, then you’ve never served our country, you don’t know anybody who’s ever served, and/or you just don’t like America very much.
Guess we’re not teaching children what our flag means anymore. Guess all the people who’ve fought and died for it don’t mean anything anymore. Guess I’m not really all that surprised.