Many Brazilians don't understand the fixation we have on the flag. Maybe Freud could explain mine. I remember the ice skates I would have had, looking at a window near Rockefeller Center. I remember flags, and our flag. Then we moved to Brazil.
I cried watching Disney's film in which girls are dressed in parts of the flag, their ensemble forming the Stars and Stripes. Whenever I stopped by the US Embassy, still in Rio de Janeiro, to visit Daddy's office, I would feel moved by the Marines in regalia, bringing down and folding the flag at sunset.
It is true the flag is displayed everywhere in the USA, a lot more often than the Brazilian one, except for World Cup times. However, the flag carries within it a meaning, the history of our nation, which along with the anthem, named after the flag, remind us of how great this country can be.
Although I spent most of my formative years in Brazil, I always considered myself an American. The first time I saw flag burning, I was shocked. It was Jimi Hendrix's ritual. Now, as an adult, I feel proud we allow our First Ammendment stand. After all, liberty and justice for all, god or godless, is what our democratic republic should stand for.
Happy Fourth! See you soon!
The American Flag
First Ammendment
love our flag
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