WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND? Are flags made in the USA?

With Memorial Day still fresh in our minds, the smell of burnt linen from Flag Day still lingering in the air, and Independence Day just around the corner, one Honesdale resident says she takes issue with the old stars and bars.

Mind you, her problem is not with the flag itself, but where our grand old banner comes from.

When she (who prefers to remain anonymous) showed up at TWI’s offices to give voice to her issue, she brought with her one of those little 3 by 5 inch plastic flags you see people waving around at parades and the like.

There, emblazoned on the miniature flagpole in letters almost as large as the stars on the flag, are the words “MADE IN CHINA.”

How can you celebrate your independence or memorialize your fallen with a symbol made by your nation’s largest competitor; the profit from which they have in their pockets?

Do you suppose when the Chinese celebrate their own revolution they buy their most meaningful patriotic symbols from Korea, Japan or some other rival?

If we can tolerate such an irony as buying your own flag from your biggest economic competitor, what’s next? Paying the bank for the priviledge of keeping your money there, and then paying them again when they lose it all? (oh, wait…)

Have we sold out all of our liberties and national dignity to the highest (or in this case — the lowest) bidder?

Where does it end?

Did you know that It is still possible to buy an American-made American flag? It is.

In fact, there is a place in Sciota called The Flag Store that was started specifically because when the owner wanted to buy a flag made in America rather than China or Taiwan she couldn’t find one.

Outraged, Vena Ackerman found a company who could prove their product was made in the U.S., and she’s been supplying American flags ever since. Her website is venasflagstore.com.

There are also numerous websites out there where you can find flags made in the country they are meant to symbolize, such as FlagStoreUSA.com.

Of course, if you’d rather show your national pride with a cheap plastic knockoff from a far-flung communist dictatorship, that’s your choice.

After all — this is a free country.