American Flags

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hey all
has anybody here or that you know of ever had an obsession with a country and or flag of the said country??
i dunno but im obsessed with America and the American Flag and any patriotic American music such as the Star Spangled Banner God Bless the USA and you're a Grang Old Flag etc
i guess this obsession was always waiting to happen.... because ive always loved America and wanted to go... i couldent contain my excitement when i went in 2001.
im going again in October and i cant wait! the oly bad thing about going is il miss my friend back home but ill make sure i stay in contact anyway.....

if anybody in England says anything bad about America i will stand up to them and defend it.
people always ask me why i like the Flag so much. i just reply 'because its beautiful and America is beautiful.
ast night i even made a little Uncle Sam hat and Flag for my hand lol





i really enjoy waking around with a flag on its pole holding it becauseif the wind catches it it looks cool...
if i had a garden id get a big 30' flagpole and put my flag up on it every day and take it off in the evening and watch it fly during the day!

Last edited by drummer_girl on 05 Sep 2006, 6:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

What's your itinerary?

Dot dot dot

What's your itinerary?---- umean when i come to America?? = MO, GA FL, KY, and VA

and i corrected the typo lol

Well send me an e-mail or somthin' when you're in N.FL / S.GA

If you were walking around with the Swedish flag wrapped around your head and body and it wasn't some sports event taking place, you'd undoubtfully be called a neo-nazi. Same thing in Germany. Europeans are thaught not to be proud of their flag and country, with a few exceptions, for instance France.

Wow, that's a hell of a weird place to start. But enjoy your trip!

europe rules, i want to live in norway.
aren't people that live in norway aloud to be proud of where they are from? norway is total chaos. it takes landscapes to the next level, and plus the music from there rules. lol

Yes, you're right, the Norwegians are very proud. The Swedes aren't. I'm glad to have Norwegian blood in my veins as well as Swedish.

We Americans think it's pretty odd as well. Flying a flag on certain occasions is all well and good, but wearing one? I think there's actually something in Federal Law that says one may not wear flags or make banners of them or anything like that--only fly one.

lol well i know im odd.. im also in England so i cant get in trouble with American federal law by wearing it here lol...
when i go to America i will not wear an actual flag... only my bandanna and my jacket... which arent flags lol if not then ill just show off my patriotic tattoo instead... and im going to get another one done too lol

I feel the same way about the Union Flag and I'm living in Canada.

There's no such law—what with the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech and all—but we do have a normative range of dress. If you're wearing lots of gaudy American flag clothes and parading U.S. flags everywhere you go, you're going to look awfully weird. People can and do wear American flag t-shirts from time to time, mainly around holidays like the Fourth of July, but they don't overdo it when they do.

In the U.S. there is some ambivalence about the flag. Conservative-minded people tend to wear and display the flag more than liberals, and a veneration and protection of the flag from "desecration" is part of conservative ideology. Republicans especially tend to turn patriotism into a religion they can use to garnish easy votes from the public (and by dismissing, say, war critics as unpatriotic). Because conservatives and Republicans have this hold over the flag and patriotism, liberals and Democrats tend to use the flag less and invoke the United States' relationship in the world instead of emphasizing the greatness of the country on its own.

I take the liberal position on national symbols, American patriotism, flag desecration vs. freedom of speech, and international cooperation.

Missouri is smack dab in the middle. Why not? And St. Louis has lots of great tourist attractions.

No one should be ashamed of their country's flag. However, in Europe we wouldn't for example put two flags on the same flag pole, as you do in the US, for example when you put a state flag beneath the Star Spangled Banner. We would put the flags beside one another.

The Swedish flag:

Flag of province Bohuslän, my home province, rarely used:

Flag of province Jämtland, more often used:

Both Bohuslän and Jämtland were seized by Sweden from Norway in the 17th century. The Jamts often declare that they are an independent republic.

Those flags are unofficial, than it's not popular among the authorities, though not illegal.

Unofficial flag of the county of Västra Götaland, my home county:


Seen on the flag are the coat of arms for the city of Gothenburg (lion with sword and shield), the provinces Bohuslän (sword, tower and lion), Dalsland (red bull) and Västergötland (griffin). Above coat of arms the Swedish crown.

Regional flag of Götaland:

Götaland is an historical part of Sweden, consisting of the provinces Dalsland, Västergötland, Östergötland and Småland. Through wars with Norway and Denmark the provinces Bohuslän, Halland, Skåne, Blekinge and Gotland were annexed to the region.

In the U.S., the state flag is essentially the national flag (each state is a separate country, unified by a common Federal government). When the U.S. flag flies on the same pole above the state flag to emphasize the Union of the 50 states without overshadowing the state's importance. It is a way of saying that each state has an autonomous identity, but is still a participant in the Union.

It seems rather natural to me... but I can understand how the symbolism would have to be different in Europe, which never had the luxury of forming a unified international economy and government at roughly the same that many of her individual nations forged their own identities. There are thousands of years of individual, largely independant histories for the various cultures and nations of Europe before, say, the EU was formed, and I don't believe the EU was ever intended to serve the same function in relation to (for example) Norway as the US does to (say) Kentucky.

And so the customs regarding the various flags would serve a different purpose in Europe - for example, a serving diplomacy as opposed to showing unity.






I'm a Republican and a conservative. Relax, NeantHumain - really, I'm not out to get you When I fly the U.S. flag, all I'm really thinking about is that, though I may not always see eye to eye with my neighbors, I still share a great deal in common with them, and I've always assumed they feel the same way. You're still my friend, co-worker, neighbor, or family. I'm not trying to "take your flag away" or boot you out of the country or anything like that... I can't even imagine how to do that with a flag.

Even conservatives and Republicans don't all think exactly alike - but in spite of our differences, we can still agree we're part of the same United States. Are the differences really that big between you and me? I don't think so, and I would hope that you don't, either.

If you see me waving the flag, I would hope that you wave it too, not less often but as often as you feel like it. We'll probably have some heated arguments at times, but at the end of the day I believe we'll still be able to shake hands and talk about things we do agree about. And whether we're in agreement or in argument, it will still be under the same flag.

Best wishes,
y.