rational emotions

 I was reading some comments concerning the Flag. The Flag code is the guiding document for the display and respecting of the flag. It is an attempt to rationalize emotion. That is how I would describe that. It is a code, like the code of the west, that isn't enforceable by law but enforced rather by mutual agreement. It is the response we would like to see. Those responses include not allowing it to touch the ground or be used as a piece of clothing. The flag is to be treated with honor and respect at all times. With the fourth of July just around the corner the flag is being used as a marketing tool. Nothing new about that, appealing to our patriotism to sell a product or service is an emotional appeal. It is really no different than Christmas, Birthdays or other , what I call " Hallmark holidays " such as Mothers day, Fathers day, etc. Emotions are manipulated to satisfy a need or justify a cause.
 Those thoughts came to mind as I read those comments. The big argument I read was how the items being sold were not made from the Flag. Yes, the items were red, white and blue. Red and white Stripes with a blue background filled with stars. Yes, those items were designed specifically to invoke the image of the American flag, but they aren't the flag. The flag code says the flag is not to be used as an article of clothing and it isn't! That is the rationale, I read. It is also what I see as an attempt to rationalize emotion. As I said in my opening remarks the treatment of the flag is controlled by a code, by emotion only. The use of semantics and logic to alter that code is an emotional response, a justification. I am a true American that's why I buy and proudly display my paper plates that look like the American Flag! Those plates aren't the flag however. It is akin to using your Mothers picture to sell a girly magazine in my opinion. No, it's not my Mother, it just looks like her. See my point there? We can rationalize that the item isn't the Flag, it wasn't made from a flag but it represents the flag? It is alright for a representative to act in a way that is unacceptable? If those items represent the Flag, shouldn't they be entitled to the same respect as the Flag? I would certainly want my representative to be treated with the same respect as myself. Isn't that why we send representatives in the first place, to represent us?
 In my thinking it all comes down to how you view the flag and what it represents. Is the flag solely cloth and thread sewn into a specific pattern. Is that what makes it the flag? Or does the flag act as a representation of something else? Is the flag a symbol of the American ideal? I would say it certainly is and that is the intent of all flags, to represent an ideal. Flags have been carried into battle since time immemorial to represent certain factions and ideals. Gather under the flag boys and fight for the right! Flags have represented good and bad and will continue to do so. The American flag is my flag! It is the flag of my fathers and all they fought to uphold. In my thinking the flag should be afforded every courtesy. I cringe when I see depictions of the flag on all these products. I question the sentiment when those depictions are defended with the logic, they aren't flags. My response is, and always will be, they are representations of the flag.
 Now, all that being said, I hope everyone enjoys their holiday. Buy your " flag " gear and display your American pride. If you feel that is appropriate, that is your opinion and you are entitled to that. That is why we have a code, not a law. You can not codify emotion. It would appear a great many people today are trying to do just that. Emotion is being used to push policy and an agenda. We must remember one thing, emotions are not always rational. In so remembering we need to temper our emotions with reason. What may be emotionally satisfying isn't always the rational response. Also we must guard against compromising our emotions for profit.