American flags should be made in America

It was an Associated Press story that only USA Today published but to many of us, advocating the banning of the importation of foreign made American flags, it was a light at the end of the tunnel.

California Representative Bob Filner, in an effort to twist the arm of the government to buy only American-made flags, advanced a resolution that any flag flown on federal property be made in the U.S.A. The House passed it. Imagine if they hadn’t. How do you explain your unpatriotic “no”  vote to your constituents?

Filner admits his solution was what the House calls a nonbonding “sense of Congress” resolution. I called Congressman Filner’s office and a spokesmen told me that the Congressmen admits that his resolution probably won’t go any farther but he echoed the Congressman’s comment, “it’s a start.”

Why won’t it go any farther? Free global trade, what else? Mandatory trade laws forbid imposing new limits or items, and that includes our precious symbol - our American flag. There are an estimated 160 million imported American flags flying throughout our country. As it stands now, only “Made in the U.S.A,” flags may fly over the nation’s Capitol. However, that allows the Defense Department to purchase foreign made American flags to fly over the remaining 8,000 federal buildings across the country, which Filner wants to prevent.

Our 50 states have the same dilemma with their state office buildings. Missouri is one state that is leading the patriotic way. Last month Governor Matt Blunt signed House Bill 1784 requiring that flags flown on state property be American made. Minnesota has a similar law but with fines and jail time for violators. Other states are picking up the gauntlet.

Our trade deficit with Communist Red China has surpassed the $96 billion dollar mark for the year. The latest government figures reveal that imported American flags amounted to $5.3 million dollars annually, $5 million from China alone. Now, the loss of $5.3 million dollars from China’s $96 billion isn’t even a half-a drop in the bucket. If any item deserves a waiver in our trade policy it should be our flag. 

I asked the Filner spokesperson if he was aware that most of those “Support Our Troops” ribbons were also made in China. Like most Americans, he was not. But that’s another story. Or is it? 

I give you President John Adam’s toast: Independence forever.