Home & Garden

Don't be this guyThere's something about the summer months that pushes pride in your country to a whole other level. From Memorial Day to Flag Day to July 4 and on and on, there is red, white, and blue as far as the eye can see. But the little flap over an American flag doormat this past weekend is a good reminder that even patriotism can be a taken a wee bit too far by eager homeowners.

An angry veteran alleged that Lowe's stores were selling doormats with flags on them, a blatant suggestion that people wipe their feet on Old Glory. Snopes has cleared the home improvement giant, but found other sellers who were using the nation's symbol on their doormats. Eww!

And if you think that's bad, wait until you get a load of the other disrespectful decor I found.

The flag has been used by American retailers in some truly bizarre ways. I'm talking car seat covers (so you can sit on the flag and spill fast food on it, fart on it ... come on, on long car trips, everyone does it) and dining mats that are made to be spilled on.

I'm sure most of the people who buy these things are just well-meaning Americans caught up in flag fervor. But do me a favor, will you? After you've perused these awful interpretations of patriotism, think carefully about how you want to use red, white, and blue in your home.

What sort of Americana have you seen that takes the pride thing far?

Image via mikebaird/Flickr