An article in the New York Times discusses the decision to lower flags in certain states to half mast in recognition of a fallen soldier.
The decision of whether or not the flag should be lowered seems to be more arbitrary than you would think.
It seems that some states honor their fallen soldiers by ordering US flags to half mast for 24 hours on state buildings, but apparently this statewide order does not apply to federal buildings. That may soon change due to legislation waiting for President Bush's signature requiring federal buildings to comply with governors' orders to lower the flag to half mast.
The part of the article that bothered me most was this :
Behind the counter at the post office in Crystal Falls [MI], Gary Burk said the flag in front was not lowered despite the governor’s order because the decision lay with the postal director of each district.
"When we lower it now, people notice it and ask why," Mr. Burk said. "If you lower every time a soldier dies, it will be down so often that people will only notice and ask when it’s up."
HELLO??? Shouldn't we want people to be more aware of how many of our soldiers are dying? Shouldn't we be outraged if the flag spends more time at half mast? Shouldn't we pull our heads out of the sand?