Does Wearing the Flag Demean It?

Regarding Fashion Police (Sept.1), I served 20 years in the U.S. Navy. Some of my friends have been killed. I have a special place in my heart for Old Glory. I know that people have the right to free speech under the 1st Amendment, but when I see the flag made into a piece of clothing, my heart saddens. I remember my friends who died so that each person in the United States can exercise his or her 1st Amendment right.

CHIN SING JR.

Stanton

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I own a black leather jacket with an American flag and USA on the back. I never thought anything more about it than I was proud to be an American and proud to show that with my jacket. I don’t condone devaluing the flag but don’t believe that having our flag on clothing demeans it.

RENEE DEON WEBER

Manhattan Beach

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When I hear people make statements about how wearing the flag denigrates our nation, I just want to scream, “Get over yourself!” Did they ever suppose that the person wearing it loves the flag so much that just seeing it wave isn’t enough? Or perhaps that our forefathers simply had the good taste to put red, white and blue together, which is a fabulous combination?

AMANDA ABEL

Sherman Oaks

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I have no problem with people wearing the flag. But the question reminded me of something that happened to a friend back in the 1960s. My friend, then in her 20s, took her 11-year-old brother to Disneyland. He was wearing a baseball cap patterned after the flag. A security guard at Disneyland asked him to remove it on the grounds that it was disrespectful to the flag. The boy felt terrible, as though he had done something really wrong. The following year, when they went back, Disneyland was selling the identical hat.

PATRICIA JONES

Sunland