It’s long past time for me to put a flagpole in the center of my front yard — one that holds a large American flag that dances proudly in the summer breeze. We bought such a flagpole for my father on his 70th birthday, shortly after he and my mother moved into a new house with a stately front yard. He was proud of his flag — with good reason. He was born during the Great Depression. As a boy, h…