The American flag stands forthe fact that cloth can be very important. It is against the law to let the flagtouch the ground or to leave it flying when the weather is bad. The flag has tobe treated with respect.

You can tell just how important this cloth isbecause when you compare it to people it gets even better treatment. No one caresif a homeless person touches the ground. A homeless person can lie on the groundall night without anyone picking him up, folding him neatly and sheltering himfrom the rain.

School children have to pledge loyalty to this piece ofcloth every morning. No one has to pledge loyalty to justice and equality andhuman decency. No one has to promise that people will get a fair wage, or enoughfood to eat, or affordable medicine, or clean water, or air free of harmfulchemicals.

But we all have to promise to love a rectangle of red, whiteand blue cloth.

Betsy Ross would be quite surprised to see how successfulher creation has become. But Thomas Jefferson would be disappointed to see howlittle of the flag's real meaning remains.

Reprinted with permission ofC. Aldebron from commondreams.org