Questions about our flag

Posted by richrobinson 8 years, 2 months ago to The Gulch: General
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I know a guy who volunteers to sing The Star Spangled Banner before local school sporting events. He is passionate about supporting the country and has developed quite a following and reputation so he is busy almost year round. He was telling me today how much the kids get into it but it is frustrating some of the questions he gets. He takes a ceremonial Flag with him and asks a student to hold it up while he sings. He said he is asked regularly:
Why are there stars on it?
Why are there stripes on it?
Why is there an eagle on the top of the pole?
He is happy to answer these questions but he wonders why they don't know this already. He does this for elementary thru high school so some of the kids are young but I wonder if these things are talked about at any level these days.


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    Posted by Esceptico 8 years, 2 months ago
    Ron Paul said: "It is no coincidence that as the federal role in education has increased the quality of our education system has declined. Any "reforms" to federal education programs will not fix the fundamental flaw in the centralized model of education. The only way to improve education is to shut down the Department of Education and restore control of education to those with the greatest ability and incentive to choose the type of education that best meets the needs of American children - American parents." To which I would add: free market education. Education is too important to be handled by government.
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  • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 8 years, 2 months ago
    They don't teach anything about the flag because it might offend someone, violate their safe space or any other anti-American thing you can invent.
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    • Posted by Eyecu2 8 years, 2 months ago
      I teach at a high school here in Texas and while my subject is Math and not History. I can say that the information is covered multiple times over the course of study. With that said very few students care enough to actually absorb anything and essentially I am nothing more than a glorified babysitter, and if too many of my students fail (even though they do nothing) it is considered to be my fault.
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      • Posted by $ SarahMontalbano 8 years, 2 months ago
        Thank you for teaching and attempting to improve my generation! I know too many teachers are exactly who you claim to be - a glorified babysitter. At least you try. They don't. They are safe in their job and they don't even attempt to teach.
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    • Posted by 8 years, 2 months ago
      Some groups don't want us to be proud of our country. My friend is doing his part. Hope we wake people up in time.
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      • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 8 years, 2 months ago
        I would be great if people woke up and quit trying to trade a false sense of safety for their liberty. Unfortunately we live in a nation of somnambulists. Just feed them another episode of the kartrashians or dancing with the stars and they will stay asleep.
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        • Posted by 8 years, 2 months ago
          When Caitlyn Jenner is a huge story we have problems.
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          • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 8 years, 2 months ago
            Agreed. Especially when he/she is considered courageous. If it wasn't for the publicity/money it generated, it could have been kept private.
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            • Posted by $ Susanne 8 years, 2 months ago
              And probably should have It's not that what Ms. Jenner did was right or wrong, it was the absolute spectacle she made of her whole episode of her recent life. It's not the transition from Bruce to Kaitlyn that bothers me; it's the whole Kardashian Media-whoremongering (considering she is as Kardashian as Kim) to exploit it for some kind of benefit by selling out to the media, and in so doing turn it into some "freak show entertainment spectacle" that, to me, was pretty tasteless.

              So... the question therefore begs... WHAT THE (deleted) does Ms. Jenner or her life have to do with the flag or the original topic? Seriously - Can someone please answer this for me? Kids wondering and not knowing about stripes, stars, or the eagle on the flagpole... and within 4 posts it becomes a transphobia debate. Are YOU that distracted by the sheeple-grade narcotic yourselves? Think about it...
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              • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 8 years, 2 months ago
                My point is that most people know and care more about Jenner's sex choice than they do about what's really important. It's all bread and circuses for the masses. Distractions. Did you miss my point that facts about the flag aren't being taught because it might offend someone? It might violate someone's safe space?
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                • Posted by $ Susanne 8 years, 2 months ago
                  Absolutely not, my friend... what disturbs me is, like the flag, how little children are really being taught in the name of "radical socialist inclusion", as if instead of bringing the lower-performing student's knowledge up, we have to dumb down those who have the smarts to make everyone equal.

                  It is the horror of Socialism brought to life, and society is being taught that instead of striving for greatness, everyone has to be brought down to a level of sub-intelligence so no one feels "left behind". I believe that if they could, they would electro-lobotomize people with an IQ in the triple digits to bring them down to the level of those less fortunate.

                  Of course... the "elite" would be exempt.

                  I remember this friend in school - good kid, lotsa heart, but not a brain trust by any means... but instead of believing the societal "You tried, and that's all that matters" BS mantra, he worked his butt off to better himself. And eventually did. But those who told him he should accept his lot in life - those who said "You can be who you are and nothing else matters" - were not happy he challenged their perception of who they felt he was and should be.
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                  • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 8 years, 2 months ago
                    OK, good. I wanted to make sure I was clear in my point.

                    When it comes to the schools I think the parents have culpability there as much as the system. They keep sending their kinder to the indoctrination camps. If they shrugged the state institutions they would collapse.
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  • Posted by jetmec 8 years, 2 months ago
    I'm English and know the answer to these questions about the American flag.
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    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 2 months ago
      good ole 11+ education! In the USA you are hard pressed to find people who know the name of the country to our south - not counting Canada with is the northern most country to our south. Let's run a test and see if they had to google time is now 1:17PM Zulu

      Five minutes no response...1:22
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  • Posted by Herb7734 8 years, 2 months ago
    I'm glad that there are some kids who still ask about the flag. They don't know about it -- hell, they're not even taught history or the founding of the country. How could they know?
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    • Posted by Steven-Wells 8 years, 2 months ago
      On national holidays, I usually fly three flags, the current 50 stars and 13 stripes, the 13 of each (stars in a circle), and the 15 of each (Star Spangled Banner). When the children in my neighborhood came around, they had lots of questions about the flags.
      "Why is there a circle on that flag? That one has 15 stripes! How did that happen?"
      And I gave them lots of answers. Over time, they got history (and science) lessons from me without knowing they were getting taught lessons, but they learned a lot and had fun in the process. Modern education has lost a lot of the show & tell curiosity element. The key is to engage the learner with something to make the content exciting.
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      • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 2 months ago
        I had one US Flag that went with me from overseas tour in the Army to the last. It was one of those flown over nations capitol flags. I referred to that and my excursions of recovering from shame. My sister unit still has it packed away somewhere. It's truly the tattered ensign I vowed never to let it enter Washington DC until the constitution was recovered.- and I don't think that's going to happen in my lifetime Being out of the country I fly the host nation's flag to starboard and my own national flag off the stern.Except I run it up a topping left that comes down from the mast to the stern at half mast every fourth of july. i see others are starting to do the same thing.
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    • Posted by $ Suzanne43 8 years, 2 months ago
      Good point, Herb! But how do you expect teachers to teach American history. They are too busy teaching about global warming, endangered species, gun control, and other liberal causes.
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  • Posted by BenFrank 8 years, 2 months ago
    It isn't just the kids or the school system on this issue. It has been bothering me for quite a while that our local post office leaves the flag up at night unlighted. Protocol is to lower the flag by sunset or shine a light on it. I went in and mentioned it to the staff. I got crickets. No comments, no defense of action. Just stared vacantly at me. I'm writing to the post master today. I will let you know if I ever here back. Very disheartening.
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  • Posted by $ Radio_Randy 8 years, 2 months ago
    Imagine a flag to stand for Political Correctness...
    1. It would be white as that is a totally "neutral" color.
    2. The cost is low, because of the lack of dyes (which is why I didn't choose yellow).
    3. It signifies "truce" or "surrender".
    Then again...someone would still take issue with it being white, as it signifies racism (maybe yellow would work, after all).
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  • Posted by mia767ca 8 years, 2 months ago
    i was in scouting with my children...we go over everything, including the proper way to burn a flag that you take our of service and retire...
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  • Posted by $ SarahMontalbano 8 years, 2 months ago
    As a current student, the flag has not been mentioned very often. The most common mention of our flag in my classes is that we do not have to say the pledge due to Supreme Court case West Virginia Board of Education vs. Barnett. We are not taught the history of the flag.
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  • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 8 years, 2 months ago
    Everything is lies about and hatred for America and it's founders by those that oppose freedom and full responsibility by 180.

    It's purposed...not to teach the true history of America because those lazy, incompetent, criminal and without a mind would be left by the wayside unable to compete with the kind of honest value creators our founding fathers knew we could be if empowered to be so.
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  • Posted by $ jdg 8 years, 2 months ago
    Those trivia of symbolism are forgotten because the reasons America was a country to be proud of are becoming forgotten too.

    As for the pledge -- it should not be regarded as patriotic. It was something socialists imposed on us in the 20th century (originally along with the straight-arm salute).
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    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 2 months ago
      A second grade class in Cohassett Minnisovieta. 1952. The teacher kept hearing something odd at the morning flag ceremony. Each day she would position herself in a different spot and then bingo!
      One little boys voice, as trained by his older brothers, rang out stout and clear. "with liberty and orange juice for all."

      My Mom was the teacher.... it was my first Caddie Woodlawn experience which happened in fourth grade.If at first you don't suck eggs fry fry a hen. the book was changed by the PC crowd.

      Truth out of the mouths of babes....
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 2 months ago
    Another poster told a story about the Iwo Jima flag and the statue with the Marines. "Why is there an extra pair of hands?" The poster was doing an annual tour with students and he replied The hand of God.
    If i remember one of the students father was former Marine and politely corrected the guide. "It was the hand of the Gunny."

    Semper Fi from the Army.
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  • Posted by khalling 8 years, 2 months ago
    The bigger question is American History
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    • Posted by lrshultis 8 years, 2 months ago
      Perhaps it is time for everyone to take a moment to research as to how the flag and pledge became a near religious activity.
      All such political demonstrations are a sign that few people give one another the benefit of the doubt as to their personal beliefs and thus need to become busybodies to their neighbors with some kind of symbolism.
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