Exactly what is a flag?

That simple question has caused more controversy about a pretty simple topic than almost any other. The Congress, which rarely agrees on anything, agreed in 1989 that the term "flag of the United States means any flag of the United States, or any part thereof, made of any substance, of any size, in a form that is commonly displayed." That makes it pretty clear that we aren't talking about ties with flags on them or birthday cakes with Stars and Stripes icing. Additionally, we have 100 years of legal precedent where the courts exercised common sense to adjudicate flag desecration cases. This really is a non-issue.