Flying the Flag

This article has an interesting discussion about what it means to fly the flag at half mast.

Half-Staff Flags Stir Meaningful Debate
By GRETCHEN PARKER The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 10, 2007

Historically, flying your nation's flag at half-staff meant one thing.

Surrender.

Even before the white flag came to signal a request for truce, lowering the national flag over a battlefield was a darker expression of hopelessness. It meant, simply, a bitter end.

Now, we lower the U.S. flag to signify a nation in mourning. In a way, it's a carryover from the old tradition. It's a symbol of death - the ultimate submission.

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