I feel like it’s the opposite. We’ve been bombarded with a bunch of “look at me” patriots (I think the right calls that virtue signaling) since September 11th, that it’s lost all meaning. I mean it’s always been commercialized, but it’s now become weaponized. The flag is EVERYWHERE. Are people supposed to stop and genuflect every time we pass one? At some point, people just tune it out.
Its an interesting phenomenon, actually. It’s like Jesus and the cross. Google “cross necklace” and you get 250,000,000 results. It’s not even a fashion statement. It’s been reduced to an accessory. Nobody sees a woman wearing one and thinks “she must be very devout”. You don’t even notice it. It’s just sort of there.