August 30, 2006
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meaningless
never pretend that the soldiers who die every day are fighting for a "flag," or even a "country." they fight for the people that the flag or country represents, for a flag is a symbol of a country, and a country is merely a group of people united by certain philosophies and ideas. the soldier defends the people of his country and what the people believe. fighting for a "flag" is fighting for a meaningless symbol: a flag by itself is merely a worthless scrap of cloth, yes, utterly worthless, not at all worth fighting over, let alone dying for. what gives the flag meaning is the country that it flies for, and what gives the country meaning is its people. men and women do not serve a "country," they serve the people of a country and uphold the country's beliefs.
so the worst traitors to a "country" are those that tear down what the country stands for from the inside. those that hide under the guise of "patriotism," suspending or destroying principles fundamental to the nation from its founding, all under the name of "wartime powers" or "emergency situations." in a country founded upon freedom and justice, take away free speech and fair trials and the country has nothing left. in their claimed "defense" of the country, the worst traitor undermines everything his country represents, leaving the country and its flag empty, worthy only to be spit upon and trampled.
for people do not live to serve their country, a country exists to serve its people.
Comments (2)
i applause you.
on a separate note, a flag represents all aspects of a country, in our country, the democracy which it represents - if people feel that the united states is becoming more and more undemonstrative of democratic ideals, they may dissent through flag burning; think of it this way
thus, on that particular note, flag burning is a legitimate form of protest
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