“The flag is a symbol of the fact that man is still a herd animal.” – Albert Einstein

Have you ever watched the television show “The Big Bang Theory?”

The sitcom stopped making new episodes several years ago, but its premise is about four brilliant but geeky guys and their attempts to navigate a society filled with nonbrilliant and somewhat-less-geeky people like you and me.

One of the show’s recurring asides is an attempt by one character and his equally brilliant and geeky girlfriend to create a web program called “Fun with Flags” where the two characters display their knowledge of and passion for various flags used throughout the world.

The blandness of the topic and the characters’ lack of camera presence provide laughs for the real television show.

Unfortunately, in 2024, no one seems to be having any fun when it comes to flags.

In the past few weeks, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has come under fire for flags flown at his and his wife’s primary residence and their vacation home.

Photographic evidence from 2021 – but only recently published by the New York Times – showed the American flag was flown upside down at the Alito’s Virginia home, traditionally considered a sign of distress in flag etiquette.

The Alitos also flew at their vacation home a flag created during the American Revolution, known as the “An Appeal to Heaven” flag, but also linked to rioters who occupied the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

This has led to calls for Alito to recuse himself from any cases to be heard by the Supreme Court involving criminal charges of the rioters or any cases involving former president Donald Trump and possible attempts at election interference.

So far Alito has resisted these recusal calls. In letters to members in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate who have asked Alito to recuse himself, Alito explained his wife flew the flag upside down against his wishes as her response to a “nasty neighborhood dispute in which (Justice Alito) had no involvement.”

Alito further explained the “An Appeal to Heaven” flag was flown at the Alitos’ vacation home in New Jersey because his wife “is fond of flying flags” and neither were aware of its connection to any modern movements.

In an interesting coincidence, the Times also reported the city of San Francisco had been flying the “An Appeal to Heaven” flag in a public pavilion for decades as part of a display of flags used throughout American history.

San Francisco’s mayor ordered the flag to be taken down and a plaque explaining the flag’s history to be removed after the hubbub over the Alitos’ use of the flag began to reach mainstream news outlets.

In Alabama we saw state legislation introduced, but not passed, this year that listed a set of flags that would be allowed to be flown on state and local public properties while unlisted flags would have to be approved by the government entity that controlled the property.

Critics believe the focus of the legislation was to limit or prevent government properties from flying the rainbow-colored flag connected to LGBTQ pride. Critics also pointed out the law would not prevent any public property from flying a flag connected with the Confederate States of America.

I do not see anything more coming of Alito’s use of flags based on the current information available, so that leaves us to think about how government should utilize flags.

We are left with two general options. One is government should have an open and permissive policy and allow flags to be flown representing a variety of beliefs and viewpoints at public buildings.

The other option, which is more acceptable in our current context, is to limit government buildings to raising only flags representing the federal, state and local governments under which they operate.

We expect government to be a neutral force and not to show favor or prejudice to any person or group. While there are countless examples of federal, state and local governments falling short of that ideal, opening the door to constant bickering about which flags should fly in front of our local post offices or city halls would only intensify the perception of division.

The downside to this option is we lose the opportunity to learn about different types of flags, what they represent, and their historical significance when they are tied to controversial or unpopular views either in the past or present. I should check YouTube and see if anyone has picked up the mantle on the “Fun with Flags” premise. I could use some joy when discussing flags right about now.