I was walking my dogs over the weekend and came across this flag attached to my neighbor’s garage. I thought, ‘that’s an odd looking American flag’…but then as the wind picked up, I realized it was an IU flag, sort of combined with the American flag. The bed of blue where the stars lay was missing. Now I’m an IU fan, but this is actually disrespectful to Old Glory. You may not even realize it, but there is an actual ‘Flag Code’ which outlines how the flag is to be displayed, cared for and respected. One part actually addresses not adding anything to the American flag:

“The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.”

I don’t know this neighbor very well, and I’m sure they meant no harm by flying this combination of Old Glory and an IU flag. It’s similar to people who might wear a tie that looks like the flag, or other clothing that has some artsy decoration using our beloved flag. It’s disrespectful. Here’s another part front the code:

“No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America.” Section 8

“The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing.”

As I snapped this photo, an older neighbor was walking by and saw me taking the photo of this flag. He said, “Not the old Glory I remember”. You could tell it rubbed him the wrong way. He was from a generation that held our flag in very high regards. I would imagined he knew someone who had fought in WWII, maybe even himself. What would they think of our Stars and Stripes being commercialized to include a college symbol? Some might say, “Oh, you’re being too sensitive”. And there lies the problem…the line has been blurred between honoring our symbol of freedom, and seeing it just a thing~

Click here to learn more about the rules and regulations about our American Flag: American Flag Code