Do you understand the meaning of flying my US flag upside-down?
490250
The Flag Code of the United States says that flying the flag upside down is a sign of distress involving great danger to life or property.  It is NOT a sign of disrespect at all, but a sanctioned way of flying the flag under dire circumstances.
550973
Flying the flag at half staff is an area of flag etiquette that most people want to make sure they get right. It is also an area for which the road to error is routinely paved with good intentions. . \n\nFLYING THE FLAG AT HALF STAFF: The pertinent section of the Flag Code says, "by order of the President, the flag shall be flown at half staff upon the death of principal figures of the United States Government and the Governor of a State, territory, or possession, as a mark of respect to their memory. In the event of the death of other officials or foreign dignitaries, the flag is to be displayed at half staff according to Presidential orders, or in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with law. \n\nIn the event of the death a present or former official of the government of any State, territory, or possession of the United States, the Governor of that state, territory, or possession may proclaim that the National flag shall be flown at half staff." The code also includes other related details including the specific length of time during which the flag should be displayed at half staff, in the event of the death of a "principal figure"(e.g., 30 days for the death of a sitting or former President, 10 days for the death of a sitting Vice President, etc.). \n\nGOOD FAITH MISUNDERSTANDINGS: Although the code is actually pretty clear, confusion continues to occur. For example, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno recently ordered the American Flag flown at half staff on all U.S. Department of Justice buildings, in honor of several DEA agents who had died. While NFF understands this gesture, the Flag Code does not give Attorney General Reno the authority to issue that order. Closer to NFF's Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania home, Mayor Tom Murphy ordered all flags flown at half staff to honor the victims of a plane crash. Here again, a well intentioned gesture, but one for which no authority exists. NFF points out these "good faith misunderstandings" not to criticize or embarrass anyone, but rather to head off a growing trivialization of this memorial salute, and to preserve the dignity and significance of flying the U.S. flag at half staff. \n\nProper respect for our flag must be maintained no matter the circumstances. \n\nWe owe that respect to our living, our dead and our flag.
84047
up, down, and upside down are relative.  You consider up to be away from the pull of gravity (away from the center of the earth), and down to be the opposite.  No, they are not "upside down", but their head is pointed in the opposite direction of yours (assuming you are standing normally, they are too, and you are on opposite sides of the world).
224085
I am unaware of any presidential proclamation to fly the U.S. Flag at half staff today.  However, Section 7 of Title 4 of the United States codes give state governors the authority to order U.S. Flags to be lowered for appropriate occasions.  This week, for example, Michigan flew flags at half staff to honor Michigan residents who had died in Iraq.\n\nIf you go to the link below, you can see a number of situations where flags will be flown at half staff.  This week was the third anniversary of the war in Iraq, so I'm sure it has to honor those who have fallen.
291567
i think its an american flag!
221007
it represents the freedoms that you have as an American. although it seems that those freedoms are being cut back just ask some people from some other countries that aren't free. They will tell you what this means and how lucky you really are.
304246
I live in the US. How far would I go? \n"when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security"\nThat far if necessary...\n\nWould I die defending it? Yes, and all it stands for...\n\nWould I live supporting it? I pay taxes, therefore yes. Supporting my country and supporting my president are 2 different things, though.\n\n“A patriot wraps himself around the flag to defend it; a scoundrel wraps it around himself to defend himself”
1103890
NO.\n\nBecause the very idea that the flag symbolizes is the freedom to do what I want, say what I want, and protest what I want.
1051918
No, the ironic thing is that the US flag stands for the FREEDOM to burn it.
203864
It should be illegal. I always thought flags had to be in good condition to be "flying".
467530
No, there should be no penalty for these actions.  It is the fundamental freedom of all Americans to do what they will in protest short of wanton destruction of other's property and inhibition of another's freedom of movement.\n\nIf we penalize someone for flying a flag upside down or beneath another nation's flag, we are lessening our freedom and that is, ultimately, what the USA flag represents: FREEDOM.\n\nDo I approve?  No, I do not.  Will I fight to the death for their right to desecrate a USA flag?  Yes, I will.  The reason I feel this way is based on my belief that we, above all nations, must always, always, always protect freedom above else.  It is what we are, who we are, why we are.  And it is not optional.  Anyone who would lodge a penalty against someone for expressing themselves with a piece of cloth (even if that cloth is an American flag) is not a true and loyal American, but a pseudo-patriot who puts more value on woven material than freedom.\n\nIt isn't disrespect for the nation to do it although it is quite childish and makes no sense.  It is disrespect for freedom to stop it, though.\n\nBy the way, flying a flag upside down is not disrespect, it is a universal sign of distress.  If those students think they were doing something disrespectful they were not only being ridiculous they were being ignorant.
674901
They aren't backwards. Flags on uniform are sawed on as if "the flag is waving from the breeze." Meaning, if it is on the right (arm) side, the stars would be toward the front of the soldiers, making it look backwards. On the other hand, if it is on the left (arm) side, the stars would still be toward the front of the soldier, but it would look "normal."\n\nImagine running with a flagpole with the American flag. If somebody sees you on your left, it looks "normal." If someone sees you on your right, it looks "backwards." It is the same concept.
351431
From what I have seen; The American Flag if you are American should be flown as you are facing it on the Left of all other flags. I have also heard that the American flag should be flown higher than flags of other countries. Again only in America. The flag should also be clean and not worn out. Worn out American flags should be burned, if you take a worn US Flag to any US Post office they should take it from you and have it destroyed properly.\n\nI do not have any references and this information just comes from what I have seen and heard.
622381
It is a common urban legend that the Texas flag is the only state flag that is allowed to fly at the same height as the U.S. flag. Allegedly, Texas has this right inherently (as a former independent nation), or because it negotiated special provisions when it joined the Union (this version has been stated as fact on a PBS website). However, the legend is false. Neither the Joint Resolution for Annexing Texas to the United States nor the Ordinance of Annexation contain any provisions regarding flags. According to the United States Flag Code, any state flag can be flown at the same height as the U.S. flag. The U.S. flag must be on its right (the viewer's left), however.\n\n\nHope this helps :)
740
Half-staff or half-mast describes the act of flying a flag approximately halfway up a flagpole (though anywhere from one-third to two-thirds of the way up the flagpole is acceptable). This is done in many countries as a symbol of respect, mourning, or distress.\n\nWhen hoisting a flag that is to be displayed at half-staff, it should be hoisted to full staff for an instant, then lowered to half-staff. Likewise when it is lowered at the end of the day, it is to be hoisted to full staff for an instant, and then lowered.\n\nThe original flag 'etiquette' was to fly the flag at one flag's depth from the top of the hoist. With the larger flags on shorter hoists on public buildings the practice of 'half-mast' has now commonly become to fly the flag at true 'half-mast' regardless of the size of the flag or hoist.
455870
It means "lying down". Presuambly you'd have a lower blood presure lying down rather than standing up, which is why it would be important to know what position you were in when it was taken.
501921
Not exactly.  From Snopes.com:\n\n"Claim:   Federal law allows only the Texas state flag to be flown at the same height as the U.S. national flag. \nStatus:   False. \n\nExample:   [Collected on the Internet, 2003] \n\n\nBy federal law, Texas is the only state in the U.S. that can fly its flag at the same height as the U.S. flag. Think about that for a second. You fly the Stars and Stripes at 20 feet in Maryland, California, or Maine and your state flag, whatever it is, goes at 17 feet. You fly the Stars and Stripes in front of Pine Tree High in Longview at 20 feet, the Lone Star flies at the same height - 20 feet. \n \n\nOrigins:   Several legends  \nmaintain that Texas is entitled to exercise certain privileges not granted to other states due to its status as a quasi-independent republic prior to its admission to the United States. We've discussed a few of these legends on another page, and here we tackle yet another one: the claim that Texas — and only Texas — is permitted by federal law to fly its  state flag at the same height as the U.S. national flag. \n\nWe must begin by pointing out the nature of the "laws" that apply to the display of the U.S. national flag. Although the federal government has an established flag code, the provisions of that code are not laws in the sense that they create regulations which one must follow or be subject to criminal penalties. Flag codes are simply codifications of tradition and etiquette regarding how, when, and where national and state flags should be displayed, and how one should act in order to show proper respect for those flags. That is, flag codes are advisory guidelines about how flags should be displayed and respected, not enforceable rules mandating how they must be displayed and respected — the codes prescribe what is proper, not what is legal. (Or, in the words of the federal government: "The Flag Code does not prescribe any penalties for non-compliance nor does it include any enforcement provisions, rather it functions simply as a guide for voluntary civilian compliance.") The federal flag code does not authorize the government to dispatch G-men or police to arrest persons who allow their flags to touch the ground, display flags upside-down or backwards, or fail to destroy old flags "in a dignified way." \n\nThe federal flag code prescribes that when the U.S. national flag is flown along with state flags, the national flag should be given the position of superior prominence. This means that: \n\nWhen the United States national flag is flown on the same halyard as a state flag, the national flag should be at the peak. \n\nWhen the national flag and a state flag are flown on separate staffs, the flag of the United States of America should be flown to the right (to the flag's own right, or to the observer's left) of the state flag, and from a staff of equal or greater height. \n\nWhen the national flag and a number of state flags are grouped and displayed from staffs, the flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the group. \n\nWhen the national flag is carried in a procession with other flags, the national flag should be carried on either the right-hand side of the line of flags or in front of the center of that line. \n\nWhen the national flag is displayed with another flag against a wall with crossed staffs, the national flag should be on the right (the flag's own right) and its staff should be in front of the staff of the other flag. \n\nWhen the national flag and one or more state flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be hoisted first and lowered last. \nSo, as long as other positional guidelines of the flag code are observed, any single state flag may be flown at the same height as the U.S. national flag (although the state flag may optionally be flown at a lower height as a show of deference to the national flag). Nothing in the f