This is the first I'm noticing that Flag Day has a Wisconsin connection. I like the school house. I've got to say I've never thought of Flag Day as much of a holiday. It's about on the level of Arbor Day. By the way, must Flag Day be about the American flag, or can you celebrate a favorite flag of your own, perhaps a rainbow flag, but maybe a Wisconsin Badgers flag or a pirate flag or a Gadsden Flag or — if you're in California — a Bear Flag?
Coincidentally, June 14 is also the date for the annual anniversary of the Bear Flag Revolt in California. On June 14, 1846, 33 American settlers and mountain men arrested the Mexican general in command at Sonoma, and declared the "Bear Flag Republic" on the Pacific Ocean coast as an independent nation. A flag emblazoned with a bear, a red stripe, a star and the words "California Republic" was raised to symbolize independence from Mexico of the former province of Alta California. The Bear Flag was adopted as California's state flag upon joining the Union as the 31st state in 1850, after being annexed by the United States following the Mexican–American War of 1846–1849. Prominently flying both the US and state flags on June 14 is a tradition for some Californians.
This is America, so prominently fly whatever flag you like. Just like on Arbor Day, you can celebrate any tree you want, you celebrate whatever flag you want. You can radiate everything you are.
Posts
39 comments:
Whey celeberate the American flag when you can burn it and face no punishment. Why not celeberate the Israeli flag or the Gay pride flag. We have laws to protect those.
I wonder what Cigrand would have thought of Monday's White House flag protocol fiasco. If the dead could speak, what would they tell us? Maybe they wouldn't tell us anything. Maybe they would just start shooting.
I dig a karma pony.
The past is another country. Very exotic.
We'll right this mystery ship.
Flag Day started in WI. Arbor Day started in NE. Ergo, WI and NE are the two greatest states in the Union.
And anyone who disagrees with me will be cancelled.
"I wonder what Cigrand would have thought of..."
Is this an intent-of-the-framer holiday?
Why on earth would we care what this dead man might want?
rcocean said...
Whey celeberate the American flag when you can burn it and face no punishment. Why not celeberate the Israeli flag or the Gay pride flag. We have laws to protect those.
6/14/23, 9:53 AM
THIS.^^^^^^ “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize,”
I'm curious to know how people perceive the flying of the American flag. When I was a child we had school crossing duty that included raising and lowering the flag. We learned how to fold the flag.
That child in me is shocked at how the flag is flown in my neighborhood. Usually the flagpole is lit at night, but the flag is never lowered or removed. And all of them -- all -- are ripped and ragged. It's windy here and a flag takes a beating. But these are strips of a flag.
Do people think the respect we learned for the flag has deteriorated? I don't mean Lefties and burnings. I'm talking about patriotic Red neighborhoods.
"Why on earth would we care what this dead man might want?"
I care. Others care. There's no need to be included in the "we" if you don't want to. "We" will keep caring, and we have plenty of care to go around for the caring-challenged.
Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks. That's interesting--one of those names is not like the others.
Some former neighbors of ours used to display a rainbow flag with a bear silhouette. I had to explain it to my wife.
I'll be putting our US flag out soon. Thanks for the reminder.
Thanks for the reminder - just put my flag out. And I'm located only 13 miles from the Stony Hill School in Waubeca, WI.
You can display any flag on any day, but National Flag Day is set aside and recognized for the American stars and stripes flag. (The word 'National' is used in the full title of what is often shortened to 'Flag Day').
Here are other things that someone has set aside the date of June 14th to celebrate:
National Bourbon Day
World Blood Donor Day
National Strawberry Shortcake Day
National New Mexico Day (although I don't know why this would be a 'national' day and not a 'state' holiday)
Falkland Islands Liberation Day
National Pop Goes The Weasel Day
etc.
Some organization has recognized this date for each of these commemorations. For (National) Flag Day, is was the US Congress in 1949.
Why on earth would we care what this dead man might want?
You don't like your crap being co-opted, either...
My flag is flying from my front porch.
Unlike the divisive pride flag, the Stars and Stripes includes….every. American.
Why on earth would we care what this dead man might want?
For God's sake, Professor. The man was a Libra. Show some respect.
Flags are to identify post offices and embassies abroad. Beyond that they're idiotic.
Why not celeberate the Israeli flag...
Also, polyamorous lions, lionesses, and their [unPlanned] cubs in gay parade.
the Gay pride flag
The Rainbow in human context. Albinophobia? Sure, why not. An ancient phobia past, present, and progressive. #HateTrumpsLove
It's not what Cigrand wanted: it's about the intention of the holiday. Of course, everyone has the right to be historically ignorant or rebellious. It's not against the law to fly a diffferent flag. But this holiday was explicitly founded on the principles of unity and patriotism as expressed by the American Flag. Cigrand dedicated his life to popularizing Flag Day. That is why his opinion matters historically.
Or we could just say that history doesn't matter if it's about dead people. Should a law not matter if it was written by people who are now dead? Should Presidential Proclamations (albeit by that tool Wilson) and Congressional Statues, not only establishing Flag Day but any standing statute or proclamation, no longer matter matter if drafted and passed by people who are now dead?
Cigrand was active in Sons of America, one of many civic groups that crucially promoted re-uniting North and South after the Civil War. Doubtlessly, this effort was one inspiration for his efforts to create Flag Day. SoA are characterized as anti-immigration and anti-Catholic, hardly uncommon attitudes of the time, but the reality is far more complex in the context of their day. They also supported compulsory public education for all. Here are excerpts from their charter:
"We shall always have with us the wise and the ignorant, the strong, the weak, the rich and the poor, and in order that all may enjoy a right to earn a livelihood, it is the duty of the government to protect the ignorant, the weak and the poor to the extent of equal opportunities under the law, and against all forms of oppression by wholesome regulations of industrial affairs.
We are opposed to the occupancy of any part of our land by foreign speculators or adventurers, and we believe that all the resources of the nation should be reserved for the exclusive use of American citizens.
We stand for a citizenship that so conducts its influences and action—socially, politically, morally and religiously—as to promote the highest welfare of our country, and pledges its full allegiance to our flag, and the liberty and justice to all that it represents. We demand the restriction of immigration, not on account of race or religious creeds, but upon physical, mental and moral grounds, that our country may cease to be filled with criminals, agitators against law and order, insane and paupers. With these exceptions, we cordially welcome all foreigners who come to this country with the honest desire of becoming loyal American citizens, and who sincerely disavow all allegiance to foreign governments."
Hmm, that does complicate things. The more you learn about history, the less you realize you really know. Or, you can just cavalierly dismiss it.
It's always Year Zero somewhere.
The reason we honor the American flag is that it is a symbol of national unity. The rainbow flag is divisive and should not be honored.
Ann Althouse said...
"'I wonder what Cigrand would have thought of...'
Is this an intent-of-the-framer holiday? Why on earth would we care what this dead man might want?"
Because it's right there at the beginning of your post:
"From the late 1880s on, Cigrand spoke around the country promoting patriotism, respect for the flag, and the need for the annual observance of a flag day on June 14..."
I would think that a person who went around promoting respect for the flag would have an opinion on an event that was widely seen as disrespecting the flag.
Your intent-of-the-framer argument would be better directed to Woodrow Wilson or one of the other politicians who actually made Flag Day a holiday.
"Working as a grade school teacher in Waubeka, Wisconsin, in 1885, Bernard J. Cigrand held the first recognized formal observance of Flag Day...."
How many stripes were on the 1880's version of the trans flag in those days? After all, the trans-ies are the bravest, most courageous Americans Joe Biden has ever known.
Except for Beau. He bravely fought memo wars as a JAG and died of his "injuries" in Iraq, or not in Iraq, or in Iraq, yes, definitely in Iraq. Or not. But probably.
Hunter said so. And he's the smartest guy Joe ever met. Except for that russki guy that paid Joe $5M. But Hunter set that up. So yeah, Hunter is the smartest. Again. Except for Beau.
Who died at Normandy. Twice. Fighting a bunch of German Corn Pops. Who were tough dudes.
>Ann Althouse said...
"I wonder what Cigrand would have thought of..."
Why on earth would we care what this dead man might want?<
"I wonder what X would have thought?" It's a common irony-illustrative trope, as you surely know. Or did you actually think that RideSpaceMountain was really concerned about what dead Cigrand might "want?" And it's what he might think, not what he might want.
I don't much like all this flag stuff. Meh. I stopped saying the Pledge of Allegiance decades ago when it occurred to me that it was just mindless mumbling to an inanimate object that we were forced to do in grade school and kept right on doing. My patriotic credentials are very much in order, thank you, but I really don't care for cookie cutter, rote displays of "patriotism". I find this banal flag-waving tiresome and of the same ilk as Lefty virtue signaling. Just live it; don't go on about it.
I drive past a similar looking, abandoned stone house everyday. The building has very similar construction -- rocks bonded with lime cement. I always wondered what it was and now I know. I looked up old stone schoolhouses in my town and found Dickinson Daycare, the very same crumbling building I drive past everyday. This one room school house was built in 1856, abandoned in the 1930s, briefly repurposed as a police station in the 1970s and finally left to become a ruin.
"Working as a grade school teacher in Waubeka, Wisconsin, in 1885, Bernard J. Cigrand held the first recognized formal observance of Flag Day...."
THIS JINGOISM WILL NOT STAND!
"This is America, so prominently fly whatever flag you like. Just like on Arbor Day, you can celebrate any tree you want, you celebrate whatever flag you want."
No you can't. Fly a big white flag with black letters that simply reads "Black Culture isn't Working", and see what happens.
Cubs Rick Monday saves the flag
https://youtu.be/hbr1hNp-nI4
Maybe they would just start shooting.
TV newscasters, and newspaper editors first!!
Forbes has this on the flag code kerfuffle:
“Even as thousands of users on social media made their case that the White House had violated the U.S. Flag Code, a large number of other users were equally quick to point out that a U.S. flag was flying atop the White House—suggesting that the display did in fact adhere to the U.S. flag code.”
Althouse expresses shallow parodies of anti-patriotic views and juvenilely views them as contrarian.
It's getting old.
"Here are other things that someone has set aside the date of June 14th to celebrate..."
It's also the official birthday of the U.S. Army. For what it's worth.
Here's a thought. Let's get rid of all tradition. Just chuck the baby out with the bathwater. Screw sanctity. Anything goes. Flags? Do what you want with them. Clothes? Wear them if you want, or flash Xi Jinping next time he's in DC. Sex? Yes please. Wherever and with whoever, just make sure you ask the father how much that boy you had your eye on costs.
All the people that came up with these things are old dead crackers. Who cares what those dead guys think, especially about the law. Law? Oh, we're keeping it? Really? Ooooooooh that's right, law professors wouldn't have a career without those old dead crackers and that crap they came up with. Well, you know what they say, you gotta keep at least one log if the raft you're tearing apart is gonna stay afloat. Stupid me.
Flag day vs ___ month.
Whiskeybum said...
:National New Mexico Day (although I don't know why this would be a 'national' day and not a 'state' holiday)"
It's all about the tourism.
Not everyone realizes that NM is part of the USA. When we were preparing to move there in the mid-Eighties, one pf our friends asked if we had to get shots and a passport.
My favorite non-official state slogan:
"Not really New, not really Mexico."
My patriotic credentials are very much in order, thank you
@Ice Nine, and what negligibly trivial set of credentials would that be?
Why on earth would we care what this dead man might want?
Ah, the classic narcissism of boomers which was then passed down to millennials. Using the royal we as if it applies to everyone. These are the same people who came up with the "It's ." phrase to justify their impositions on others.
>Big Mike said...
My patriotic credentials are very much in order, thank you
@Ice Nine, and what negligibly trivial set of credentials would that be?<
I have no negligible or trivial patriotic credentials. I only have 365 significant ones, which are the days I served in Vietnam...for which I volunteered.
Post a Comment