I walked through a county courthouse square,
On a park bench an old man was sitting there.
I said , "Your old courthouse is kinda run down."
He said, "Naw, it'll do for our little town."
I said, "Your old flagpole has leaned a little bit,
And that's a Ragged Old Flag you got hanging on it."

He said, "Have a seat," and I sat down.
"Is this the first time you've been to our little town?"
I said, "I think it is." He said, "I don't like to brag,
But we're kinda proud of that Ragged Old Flag.

"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there when
Washington took it across the Delaware.
And it got powder-burned the night Francis Scott key
Sat watching it writing Say Can You See.
And it got a bad rip in New Orleans
With Packingham and Jackson tuggin' at it's seams.

"And it almost fell at the Alamo
Beside the Texas flag, but she waved through.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee, Beauregard, and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on that Ragged Old Flag.

"On Flanders Field in World War I
She got a big hole from a Bertha gun.
She turned a blood red in World War II.
She hung limp and low by the time it was through.
She was in Korea and Viet Nam.
She was sent where she was by her Uncle Sam.

"She waved from our ships upon the briny foam,
And now they've about quit waving her back here at home.
In her own good land here she's been abused --
She's been burned, dishonored, denied, and refused.

"And the government for which she stands
Is scandalized throughout the land.
And she's getting threadbare and wearing thin,
But she's in good shape for the shape she's in.
'Cause she's been through the fire before
And I believe she can take a whole lot more.

"So we raise her up every morning, take her
down every night.
We don't let her touch the ground and we fold
her up right.
On second thought, I do like to brag,
'Cause I'm mighty proud of the Ragged Old Flag."


"Ragged Old Flag"
John R. Cash copyright 1974


'Nuff said!

Funny thing to note, I fly the american flag every day at my house.

Funny thing to note, I fly the american flag every day at my house.

Imagine that so do I :) And I'm damn proud to do so.

I did in elementary to highschool, my dad put a flage pole in so I could - but can't in my apartment so there's one hanging on our wall if that counts any :)

One of the first things I did when I bought my home was get a Flag I could fly from my front entryway. 5 years later and 2 new brackets it sill hangs there.

Got mine up everyday also

I was in N.C. last week testing some equipment, drove through a town called Hertford N.C....they had a two story confederate flag and soldier soluting it. Amazing.

I was in N.C. last week testing some equipment, drove through a town called Hertford N.C....they had a two story confederate flag and soldier soluting it. Amazing.

If they want to display the flag of a bunch of losers, and then have loser soldier salute it, by all means, let them.
There is no wrong in honoring those that died for an ideal. However when you are on the losing side, there is nothing more pitiful than not admitting it.
The South will rise again, indeed.

If they want to display the flag of a bunch of losers, and then have loser soldier salute it, by all means, let them.

I don't know if you remember that little thing called Viet Nam, but we didn't exactly win that one, but it doesn't stop us from saluting O'l Glory.

While I think that the majority of the confederates were a bunch of racist hicks, there is nothing wiong with remembering the people who fell in the bloodiest war in US history.

If we forget history, we are doomed to repeat it.

So fighting for something they believed in makes them losers? Christ. Long walk, short pier, you.

One thing to remember is the confederacy wasn't fighting over slavery - neither was the north for that matter.

The North was fighting to "preserve the union" and the South was fighting over State's Rights over Federal rights. Truthfully, while I am adamantly against slavery in any form - and being a "Yankee" I still think the South was in the right and the country was originally founded on State's rights over Federal rights. I can't recall off the top of my head the other State vs Federal issues, slavery obviously being the biggest of all of them, but there were others if I can remember correctly.

If we forget history, we are doomed to repeat it.

Do you mean we could end up with our military bogged down, involved in another country's civil war where we fight guerilla insurgents and that the strategists would be Washington politicians and civilian appointees that ignore the military recommendations of the troops on the ground?

I don't see that happening at least not while someone with the command experiences of the likes of Bush or Cheney are in charge.

If they want to display the flag of a bunch of losers, and then have loser soldier salute it, by all means, let them.
There is no wrong in honoring those that died for an ideal. However when you are on the losing side, there is nothing more pitiful than not admitting it.
The South will rise again, indeed.

Fer Christ's sake, Sixee, must you always look for ways to show how asinine
you can be?

You have no grasp at all of your country and it's history, to make such an inane remark.

Do you mean we could end up with our military bogged down, involved in another country's civil war where we fight guerilla insurgents and that the strategists would be Washington politicians and civilian appointees that ignore the military recommendations of the troops on the ground?


Touche'

So fighting for something they believed in makes them losers? Christ. Long walk, short pier, you.

Nope, fighting against the North, which was an industrial powerhouse, and losing, makes them losers.

I don't know if you remember that little thing called Viet Nam, but we didn't exactly win that one, but it doesn't stop us from saluting O'l Glory

Police actions don't count. ;)


Fer Christ's sake, Sixee, must you always look for ways to show how asinine
you can be?
You have no grasp at all of your country and it's history, to make such an inane remark
You mean the South won the war?

You are right Kel, it was a States Rights vs Federal Rights issue. Incidentally, I'm not a big fan of the federal government. But history is history. The Feds had better firepower and equipment, although the States had the edge in tactics and leadership.
Does that show you how much I know about my country now Byl?

By that regard, we should have never participated in the Revolutionary War. England had more firepower, and prior to the war was believed to have better tactics.

I never said they shouldn't have participated.
I just stated the facts that resulted in the outcome of the war.
Incidentally, France gave us a HUGE helping hand against the British.

In an attempt to get that thread away from the current 6th grade history lesson and back on topic:

This pisses me off...

http://student.vwc.edu/~chronicle/3_28_03/CourtneyFlag3.jpg

more than this...

http://hammeroftruth.com/images/articles/486-protest_flag_burning.jpg

If you're going to fly the flag and show your patriotism, take care of it. This is the reason I haven't flown my flag this year as I did last.. I'm simply too busy to care for it properly.

If you're going to fly the flag and show your patriotism, take care of it. This is the reason I haven't flown my flag this year as I did last.. I'm simply too busy to care for it properly.


Buy a new one...$19.99 at Target made by Valley Forge! (Plus you're supporting a US and PA business)

Oh the one I have is in perfect shape... I just dont want to see it damaged by a storm (like we had here the other night) while I'm at work.

On another note, a long time ago I was given a Tenn. state flag that was flown over the capital building in Nashville and a USA flag that was flown over the capital in DC... but I gave them to some people in the Soviet Union. I wish I had them back now :( because the KGB probably confiscated them after I left.

Was cool though... for an hour, a Tenn state flag and the red white and blue flew over the town square of a small communist city just outside of Moscow in 1988. Ha. Reagan had nothing on me. I singlehandedly brought down the Soviet empire.

Well hell, we should've just sent akipt to Iraq. ;)

Cool story.

By that regard, we should have never participated in the Revolutionary War. England had more firepower, and prior to the war was believed to have better tactics.

Amateurs talk tactics, dilettantes talk stategy, winners talk logistics. To paraphrase :> We won the revolutionary way because some smart people got Washington's ear and he made it a point to preserve the Continental Army and keep the war going as long as possible, until England got tired of paying for a Trans-Atlantic war. The English were in possession of major American cities for the duration and it wasn't until the French arrived in force after years in the Carribean that we had local military superiority.

That isn't the canonical example I'd use of why foreign dominance against a state that really doesn't want you there is impractical, but I am going to see the nameless statue of Benedict Arnold later this summer on my way through. I'm sure someone could try and draw parallels between him and al-Sadr if they were feeling petulant.

While a proper cotton/linen flag might look nicer when first flown, synthetic materials tend to hold up against fading and fraying much better.


On a side note, a minor peeve was renewed this past july 4th when the local vet's groups were putting those small flags usually found at cemetaries along certain boulevards around town, to stir the patriotism and give a nice impression to visitors. I don't think it gave a very good impression, however, when people would drive by and see them blowing down the street, or laying in puddles.

Common sense needs be exercised a bit better when trying to do these things; either use a longer stick for better anchoring, or have a crew going around and picking up flags that have been knocked down or blown loose, because it becomes obvious fairly quickly that the average person is not going to stop to do it.

I fly one from the front of my home, though, I have one velcro'd to my right shoulder, that's the one I'm more proud to display. A small bit of trivia about it though. Many people ask me why it's backwards, we're used to seeing the flag with the stars on the left as it is displayed. Though when sewn to the right shoulder of the Army uniforms, the stars are to the right. This is to symbolize it always moving forward to battle, never retreating.

American Military personel do not Retreat. on occasion we have been known to fall back to a better postion but we do not retreat.

I fell back out of the military to a better civilian position. Basically I opened up a new front.

Thanks for the post, Blymet. I've been bad about getting a flag up at my new house, but I have one that was flown over DC that I carefully display in my classroom (I have very high walls) each year to replace the little ones the school gives us.