General Discussion

Not kidding. Okay, I understand and even accept the principle that the enemy must be fought with all reasonable means, and am just as pleased with the Gov's tweet-barrage as the rest of you.

But flag etiquette is very clear: the US Flag is not to be worn as a garment. Period. Yes, the other side abuses this rule constantly. That doesn't mean we have to. When choosing to abuse a rule or custom, one should ask what it buys them. This use of the US Flag does not buy the Democrats or Mr Newsom anything, and I doubt JDT or the MAGATs will even notice, given the rest of the meme.

Trivial? One could argue so. But one of the problems we are seeing, especially in this century, is the manipulation of political imagery in ways that are, to me and many other observers, distinctly Fascist in nature. One US Flag on a podium, placed according to the rules, is one thing, and it served US politics well for decades. A whole series of flags, flag lapel pins, flag iconography? It reminds me of nothing so much as the film Triumph des Willens.

Patriotism is not something you wear. In fact, wearing the US Flag is distinctly un-patriotic, as it violates the rules for flag display that the country has long followed.

-- Mal