Happy...Flag Day?

[Magus]

Does anyone honestly know what the point of this one is? Like, you hang out a flag? Seriously? That's it? Heck, I think some towns used to do Flag Day parades over this thing. Is this like the day they put the flag on Iwo Jima or something?

EDIT:

"It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777." Seriously? That's it? That's freaking it? And people bitch about Cinco De Mayo being on their calendar? THEY FREAKING FOUGHT THE FRENCH EMPIRE WITH MACHETES, DAMMIT.

[Osterbaum]

Flag Day is thing over here too. Pretty much only two things happen then: flags on flagpoles and a military parade.

e: no wait, I think I'm actually confusing two separate days here; day of the finnish flag and flag day of the defense forces

[Melfice]

Ladies and gentlemen: the United States of America. (and Finland too)

[Osterbaum]

Yeah but we don't have flags on every flagpole around the year and we don't have flagpoles on every building.

[Melfice]

Originally Posted by Osterbaum

Yeah but we don't have flags on every flagpole around the year and we don't have flagpoles on every building.

You've got that going for ya, but you still have a day dedicated to your flag.

[tacticslion]

See, the reason this is important is that Flags used to mean more to people than they do now. Effectively, this is a culture clash.

Basically, the Flag is a symbol. Symbols are important. However over the last roughly, eh, four to five decades or so, such things became passe and have fallen out of favor. Now no one's really willing to put much stock in something that's just a symbol because, frankly, it's a thing that we make, and who cares?

But once it was really, really important. Important enough to lay down your life. Important enough to actually do something about it, if someone so much as looked badly at it, much less did something rude such as spit on it, or - the ultimate travesty - burnt it.

So, yeah, it was once really important. By declaring "Flag Day", you weren't just talking about how great a piece of cloth with colors was, you were literally, seriously talking about the thing the symbol represented. It was a conflation of the two: the Symbol represented the thing it was a Symbol of, so to do something to or for the Symbol was to do something to or for the Thing itself.

In this case the United States.

Imagine it this way: if someone wanted to declare war on (or show their absolute disdain for) the U.S., they could murder an ambassador. That matters more than just a random citizen because the ambassador represents his country.

A flag was similar. No, it wasn't sentient, but it was, to that way of thinking - an ambassador.

Anyhoo, it makes sense, just not to our current cultural mindset.

EDIT: I am in no way saying that a flag (or anything made by human hands) is as valuable as a person. However, it's not "a flag" that's being honored in principle (though it pretty much would be now days), it's everyone who's a citizen at the same time. And to dishonor that many people simultaneously was serious at one time.

[POS Industries]

And here all I got my flag was a card and a gift pass for a day at the spa.

[Magus]

Originally Posted by tacticslion

See, the reason this is important is that Flags used to mean more to people than they do now. Effectively, this is a culture clash.

Basically, the Flag is a symbol. Symbols are important. However over the last roughly, eh, four to five decades or so, such things became passe and have fallen out of favor. Now no one's really willing to put much stock in something that's just a symbol because, frankly, it's a thing that we make, and who cares?

But once it was really, really important. Important enough to lay down your life. Important enough to actually do something about it, if someone so much as looked badly at it, much less did something rude such as spit on it, or - the ultimate travesty - burnt it.

So, yeah, it was once really important. By declaring "Flag Day", you weren't just talking about how great a piece of cloth with colors was, you were literally, seriously talking about the thing the symbol represented. It was a conflation of the two: the Symbol represented the thing it was a Symbol of, so to do something to or for the Symbol was to do something to or for the Thing itself.

In this case the United States.

Imagine it this way: if someone wanted to declare war on (or show their absolute disdain for) the U.S., they could murder an ambassador. That matters more than just a random citizen because the ambassador represents his country.

A flag was similar. No, it wasn't sentient, but it was, to that way of thinking - an ambassador.

Anyhoo, it makes sense, just not to our current cultural mindset.

EDIT: I am in no way saying that a flag (or anything made by human hands) is as valuable as a person. However, it's not "a flag" that's being honored in principle (though it pretty much would be now days), it's everyone who's a citizen at the same time. And to dishonor that many people simultaneously was serious at one time.

Yeah, but it just seems so superfluous when we also have Independence Day, Veterans Day, Memorial Day...I'm hoping at least one of those was conceived of after Flag Day and not before so maybe at least Woodrow Wilson had an excuse for thinking there weren't enough patriotic holidays.

Oh, well, at least it's not federally observed or whatever...maybe it should be, though. I could use another day off of work.

[Melfice]

Hah, I just remembered.
The Dutch celebrate Flag Day as well.

Except it's not dedicated to actually celebrating our flag, but to celebrate the first day after winter where the herring fishers sail out again. Which is done by hanging up little Dutch flags.
Our Flag Day's more practically minded than your Flag Day! Hah!

[Osterbaum]

Maybe so, but then again; herring fishers. That is pretty lame. At least we get a military parade.