Back in my day... the US flag had 48 stars for my first ten years. In 1959, we added Alaska and Hawaii, so it went up to 50.
When I was younger, the flag was respected as a symbol of our values, but was pretty low-key. In the late sixties, LBJ, Nixon et al politicized it. It became a symbol of the right. The hippies thought it belonged to everyone and slowly took it back. That didn't stop the MAGA (former Republican arty) from stepping up the flag as a veneration of conservative values. Today, I see modified/mutilated versions of it hanging off pickup trucks, often next to a portapotty urging us to flush Biden. These "patriots" are not familiar with the U. S. Code, which has strict guidelines on how the flag is to be displayed. This includes not displaying it at night without illumination, and the flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature. The flag should not be used to push political agendas.
When I was about ten, the teacher told of a lawsuit against the parents of a child who refused to salute the flag. This horrified the class. Digging deeper, the child's family were Jehovah's Witnesses, who were following the biblical injunction to not honor graven images. From my perspective now, I agree with the parents, since it is a freedom of religion issue and meant no disrespect.
I prefer the simpler times when the flag was a symbol that brought us together.