No flag, no country!

"If I'm gonna get my balls blown off for a word, my word is poontang."

-Animal Mother, Full Metal Jacket

I recently caught some flak for saying that I felt it was wrong to pledge allegiance to a flag and that a flag was "just a piece of cloth". This was quickly equated to being a criticism of America.

The flag is certainly a powerful symbol. As the Supreme Court once stated in a dissenting opinion on a decision to protect flag burning, "...the American flag has occupied a unique position as the symbol of our Nation...It does not represent any particular political philosophy. The flag is not simply another 'idea' or 'point of view'...flag burning is the equivalent of an inarticulate grunt or roar...indulged in not to express any particular idea, but to antagonize others..."

I do feel it is proper to ensure it is displayed in a proper and respectful manner. It is an etiquette thing, just as it is proper not to speak while a country's national anthem is playing. When someone uses the flag as a cape and drags it on the floor or chatters away as our anthem is sung, I get annoyed. I do what I can on my part to pay my respects to the colors and to our country's traditions as well as give proper respect to the national symbols of other states and organizations.

But it is not a sacred cow. At the end of the day it is a symbolic piece of cloth (or nylon), but still a piece of cloth. More important is the "republic for which it stands", not the flag itself. If someone treats the flag like trash or insists on playing "Angry Birds" as the Star Spangled Banner is performed, then that's their choice. You can ask them to leave so as not to disrupt the performance, out of respect for a private event/premise, etc., but you can't force someone to be respectful, and there's more important issues facing this country than simply how we treat a piece of cloth.

What does the flag mean to you? What do you feel about the importance afforded to national symbols?