Is it just me, or are flags just a little bit out of style or something? When I was a teenager in the 70's, it seemed like everyone was wearing and displaying American flags. Maybe I'm just not around the events where flags are displayed. I am not a sports fan or anything, so maybe I just don't see them as much as some people do. What about you?

I've also noticed a lot of tattered American flags flying outside of buildings that I pass. I know that the flag is supposed to be burned when it's worn out. Sometimes the edges are really in tatters. I see flags flying at night, too, which is acceptable if it is well lit. But what about in the rain? Aren't they supposed to be taken in during rainstorms?

Is it just in America or is this a worldwide trend? I don't know. I know that flags are used in the Olympics and in international sports competitions. Do you see them much for anything else? I just don't think I see flags flying anywhere very much anymore.

I have an odd theory about it. You know, it used to be important to carry a flag into battle so you knew whom to shoot. I'll admit that I do not, thank God, live in a war zone, and I'm sure you'll still see flags there, but maybe, just maybe, we are less interested in showing how different we are from other nations.

The Internet and global trade and communication of other kinds have made an impact on how people of different nations see each other. I don't know about you, but somehow, I'm better able to see how similar we all are. I mean I can sign into Yahoo Instant Messenger and get IM's from folks all over the world who want to chat with me. They seem to have some of the same kinds of concerns, as well as joys, in their lives that I do. They don't seem all that different.

Maybe we don't need flags so much because becoming a big global family is much more real to us than ever before.