You Can’t Fly the American Flag in America Anymore!

I am getting so tired of people in our country being told they can’t fly the American flag. This is America, isn’t it? Why can’t we fly our country’s flag without being harassed about it?

On June 18 I found a story posted by Alice Barr of KHOU 11 News, about a man in Webster, Texas named Duy Tran, who says his apartment complex manager told him to take his American flag off his balcony because it was “a threat to the Muslim community.” His neighbors have other patriotic symbols hanging from their balconies, and the complex manager didn’t come after them. So why does Duy Tran have to take down his flag? He wants to leave it up to honor his friends who died serving our country, and he has the support of his neighbors. Here’s my response to the apartment complex manager, which I posted on Google+:

Since when is the American flag a "threat"?? Since when is it "inappropriate" or "unsafe" to display an American flag on your balcony in America? If it's firmly attached to the railing, it's not going to fall down on anyone. And if it's offensive to the Muslim community, too bad. It was offensive to me and all other Americans when Muslims bombed the World Trade Center. It's offensive to me that they want to build a Mosque in that vicinity. It's offensive to me that they want to do everything they can to turn America into a Muslim nation. Ain't gonna happen! How dare they come into this country and tell Americans what they can and cannot do? If they don't like how we display our pride in our country, they can go back where they came from! It won't hurt my feelings one bit if they leave!  

Today I watched a video about a 73-year-old veteran, Larry Murphree,  in Jacksonville, FL who is battling against his homeowners association over a small American flag in one of his flowerpots. And by “small,” I mean the flag is about 8” x 10” or so. It seems the homeowners association wants to regulate what goes into the flowerpots, and it doesn’t include the American flag among the things it deems acceptable. The homeowners association has been fining Mr. Murphree $100 per day, and so far the fines add up to over $8,000. If he doesn’t pay the fines, they will file a foreclosure lien on his home! Mr. Murphree says all he wants to do is honor his country. He says the homeowners association tried this same thing two years ago and it was settled. Now they’ve made up new rules about what can be in a flowerpot, and the flag is “an unauthorized object.” Since when is the American flag “an unauthorized object” in the United States of America?! (I know that’s not what the homeowners association meant, but still, they really need to stop being so controlling!) Mr. Murphree says his neighbors support him one hundred percent. He says news of his battle with the homeowners association has gotten around online,  and he’s even gotten calls from people in other states voicing their support. When the Fox News Insider reporter who was interviewing him asked him what his message would be to those who were so strongly opposed to having “an unauthorized object” (i.e., the American flag) in his flowerpot, his response was: “Well, I would think that if anybody on that board told me they’d served in the military, I’d have to ask them which side.” My sentiments exactly.

Here’s a similar story about Brent Greer, who lives in Bradenton, FL. The city’s code enforcement officers inspected his home after someone anonymously reported a dead Christmas tree in front of his house. The inspectors found a few things they said were “code violations,” and threatened Mr. Greer with a fine of $250 per day. In protest against his city’s unfairness, Mr. Greer painted his home red, white, and blue to show his community that he still lives in the United States. According to the report, painting his home is not a code violation. But they’ll probably fine him for that, too. Those self-serving idiots in authority seem to have an aptitude for finding loopholes that they use to their own advantage. And I’m talking about everywhere, not just in Bradenton. Mr. Greer, my hat’s off to you, sir. Well done.


People, our country’s birthday is coming up very soon. On July 4, I want to see people proudly waving the Star Spangled Banner and celebrating our nation’s Independence! Let’s show our pride and gratitude for our servicemen and servicewomen, who sacrifice everything so that we can be free! This is America! Wave the flag! Display it proudly! Don’t let anyone tell you to take it down! FIGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM! DON’T LET ANYONE TAKE IT AWAY!

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation UNDER GOD, with LIBERTY and JUSTICE for ALL!
I’M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! GOD BLESS THE USA!