Wrong to prohibit flags

Dear Editor: As America celebrated its 242nd birthday, American flags were flying high and proud all around the nation — except in one place, the Tivoli Gardens condominiums.

It is against the rules at Tivoli Gardens to fly an American flag. You can have a flag on your front door as long as it’s in the inside of the door. In fact, Tivoli Gardens does not even have a flag flying at all on the grounds. I was told by a board member that, at one time, there was a flag pole on the grounds but it fell over. If a flag pole can fall over because of the wet ground, why do we think that our condos at some point in time will not also collapse?

When one asks why we are not allowed to fly an American flag outside of our condos that we bought, we are told that if they allowed people to fly American flags, then what would stop someone else to fly another country’s flag?

So instead of making a rule that you can fly only an American flag, they forbid you to fly any flag. Why is it not allowed to fly another country’s flag when it’s appropriate? On Bastille Day, if you are French, why can’t you fly a French flag? Or, as an Italian-American, why can’t I fly an Italian flag on Columbus Day? In this day and age, when people are divided and fighting among themselves, this seems wrong.

This is America and I am an American, and I should be able to fly my country’s flag whenever I want to. If I was living in another country, then it would make sense to just fly their flag. If you are looking for a little bit of Russia, then please come and visit Tivoli Gardens.

Marc Savino, Tivoli