[Peter Ansoff]

Greetings, everyone,

There's an New York Times article here:

www.nytimes.com/2008/07/04/sports/04flags.html?hp

about the use of very large American flags at sports events and such. As you can see in the accompanying pictures, the flags are displayed flat, either on the turf or held by a large number of people around the edges. It's clear from the article that the people involved feel that they are being very patriotic. A representative of the American Legion is quoted as saying "All we ask is, no matter the size, that the flag is treated with dignity and respect."

What's interesting is that the use of flags in this way flatly contradicts Section 8 of the flag code:

(b) The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water or merchandise,
(c) The flag should never be carried flag to horizontally, but always aloft and free.

Here's yet another case in which the flag code has not kept up with the times. It was a "codification of existing rules and customs" that prevailed in 1923, but not today.

Peter Ansoff

[american_flag_uk]

hey!

thanks for bringing that oe here - i had not read about that

i've never laid my eyes on a flag bigger than 9x17 ft (one of my own flags) other than on my computer. i would really like to see one of these huge flags up close!

lol @ yet another time the flag code hasn't kept up with the times!

it sure is. i wonder if anybody has seriously tried to change and update it - and make it more easy to interprit by the general public?

i also found it quite interesting to read about one of these huge flags being able to be taken apart into 4 pieces

i wondered for a while how they get Superflag into her dedicated van- which she of course fills completely... lol.. i tried asked the guys at Superflag but i never got any form of reply

[Peter Ansoff]

Also, check out

www.scltc.org

which is the web site of the Southern California Lego Train Club. A couple of years ago they built a huge American flag out of Lego bricks. I've never seen it "in person," but I saw a presentation on it at a convention and it's pretty awesome. On the site, go to Galleries/Events, and scroll down -- there are three sets of photos of the flag being constructed, as well as the finished product. Note that it is not just a flat representation -- it "waves!"

We tried to arrange to have the flag on display at the NAVA convention in Reno in 2006, but we couldn't work out the logistics. The flag is not easy to transport -- it comes apart into two pieces, but it's heavy and takes a small truck to move around.

Peter Ansoff

[american_flag_uk]

ooh thats nice must of took ages to build