Patriotic displays have become quite common since 9/11.

Just the other night I was at the local chamber banquet. The table decorations were patriotic, we got little flag lapel pins, there was patriotic music and a color guard.

It was nice. Patriotism can be moving, unifying.

These days, you see the U.S. flag on cars, trucks, homes, buildings and clothing.

Yes, the flag is everywhere. And in most cases, it's appropriate.

Problem is, I've noticed the flag being displayed improperly with all manner of flag etiquette being ignored.

A while back we ran a photograph on the front page. The picture showed a flag that was sent from New York to the airport near Kandahar in Afghanistan.

The flag was flown over the debris of the World Trade Centers.

A whole bunch of relatives of firefighters and policemen who died in the 9/11 attack wrote messages on the flag.

Many of the messages were quite touching, quite moving, but they were written right on the flag.

That's a clear violation of flag etiquette.

I hate to sound un-American or throw water on somebody's idea of patriotism, but shouldn't we show proper respect to the flag? Especially at a time like this, with the war on terror and all?

I looked up flag etiquette on the Internet. There are a lot of restrictions on the way you display a flag, the way you handle a flag and even the way you behave around a flag.

Here are a few items to ponder, gleaned from The Flag Code of The United States, Public Law 94-344.

The flag should never be dipped to any person or thing. It is flown upside down only as a distress signal.

The flag should not be used as a drapery, or for covering a speaker's desk, draping a platform or for any decoration in general. ...

The flag should never be used for any advertising purpose. It should not be embroidered, printed or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes, or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use. Advertising signs should not be attached to the staff or halyard.

The flag should not be used as part of a costume or athletic uniform, except that a flag patch may be used on the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen and members of patriotic organizations.

The flag should never have placed on it, or attached to it, any mark, insignia, letter, word, number, figure or drawing of any kind.

The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying or delivering anything.

When the flag is lowered, no part of it should touch the ground or any other object; it should be received by waiting hands and arms. To store the flag, it should be folded neatly and ceremoniously.

The flag should be cleaned and mended when necessary.

When a flag is so worn it is no longer fit to serve as a symbol of our country, it should be destroyed by burning in a dignified manner.

Most American Legion Posts regularly conduct a dignified flag burning ceremony, often on Flag Day, June 14th. Contact your local American Legion Hall and inquire about the availability of this service.

There are lots of other items in the flag code, telling how it should be displayed, when it's appropriate to fly it at half staff.

So I was thinking about all this and how maybe we should be a little more careful about how we treat the flag when it dawned on me that Public Law 94-344 is pretty much moot these days.

I mean, after all, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that flag burning is a constitutionally protected freedom of expression.

If you can burn the flag for kicks, what precludes you using it as a towel or a rag or sewing it into a pair of underwear, for that matter?

While we are all stumbling over each other trying to be politically correct and not offend anyone, wouldn't it be nice if this outbreak of patriotism spawned by 9/11 would teach us a newfound respect for the flag?

Some other 9/11 items that either puzzle or amuse me:

• An expert arguing on CNN that the accused terrorist Moussourri, or any other terrorist for that matter, could never get a fair trial in the U.S. I saw this same pundit a few days earlier decrying the use of military tribunals to adjudicate accused terrorists.

What should we do with these people, let them go?

• Experts - before Operation Enduring Freedom - telling us how tough and resilient the Taliban and al-Qaida fighters were and how the Soviets tried unsuccessfully for 10 years to oust them and how we could end up in a "Vietnam-like quagmire."

• Experts - right after 9/11 - telling us of the dozens of terror cells still active in the U.S. Since 9/11 there have been thousands of government agents investigating the terrorists who died on those planes. They have traced their activities probably back to their births. They have probed into all their records, friends, associates and activities. They have interviewed anyone even remotely connected with them.

There has been one arrest.

Makes one wonder how many terrorist cells there really are.

• Experts warning of bin Laden's long reach and ability to unite Muslims. (I must admit even I was a little concerned about that.) There was no holy war. No international backlash against the U.S. No Muslims worldwide taking up arms against the U.S. No pro-bin Laden demonstrations. No martyrdom. The world's most notorious terrorist and his "network," are running, hiding, angering the Islamic world and losing more support every day.

I was always skeptical of experts. Recent events have given me no reason to change. [[In-content Ad]]