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LET
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER YET WAVE …
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
June 29, 2012
The
U.S. National Anthem is a very proud song – and it talks about
the flag that is still waving.
But
it seems that many members of community association boards are
not very familiar with the lyrics of the anthem and clearly
don’t like this flag to wave.
Over
the past few years huge amounts of legal fees have been spent
trying to disallow owners to fly Ol’ Glory.
Here
in
Florida
the most prominent case was that of “Jupiter
Flagman” George Andres, a proud former Marine who
flew the American flag from a 13-foot flagpole in his front
yard. The Indian Creek
Phase III-B Homeowner's Association Inc. pursued this case, even
after the law was changed in Tallahassee and the fines levied by
the HOA were no longer legal. They tried to foreclose on
Andres’s home to collect their legal fees, but they lost their
shirt in
Appeals Court
[GEORGE
ANDRES vs. INDIAN
CREEK PHASE III-B HOMEOWNER'S
ASSOCIATION]
It
was estimated that the association paid about $300,000 in legal
fees altogether – just in order to avoid seeing Ol’ Glory
wave from a flagpole in George Andres’s front yard?
Even
after the laws changed as a result of this widely publicized
case (even then-governor Jeb Bush visited George Andres and paid
$100 towards his fine), the attitude of many board members
hasn’t changed. The media reports about many new cases popping
up all over the nation. The latest case making headlines here in
Florida
took place in a HOA in
Jacksonville
. This headline says it all: Homeowner
wins American flag battle against HOA.
Homeowners’
associations are supposedly protecting the property values in
the community. Why do some board members consider flying the
U.S. flag a danger to their property values? I will never
understand why so much money is being wasted on an issue that
definitely should make Americans proud – seeing the flag
described in their National Anthem wave in the wind.
Maybe
we should pass a law that all participants of board member
certification courses must recite the national anthem. Would
that make all of them get the drift? Maybe that would stop all
these legal fights over owners proudly flying the U.S. flag.
Could
anybody please tell me what is wrong with flying a U.S.
flag from a perfectly good-looking flagpole on the owners’
deeded property?
Get
ready for the 4th of July and proudly fly Ol’ Glory
– a flag that is supposed to wave “…O'er
the LAND of the FREE and the HOME
of the BRAVE…”!
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