"Gordon" wrote in message
...
With all respect Gordon, this sort of 'respecting the symbol of our
nation'
is probably very hard for most Europeans to understand.

I doubt if I could clear it up, but I grew up thinking that our flag stood
for
everyone on earth who wanted to live free. I know that time has proven
this
notion to be wrong, but I also know that 29 of my friends gave their lives
in
US Navy aircraft so that the rest of us could live ours in relative peace.
I
think that when folks have died under this banner of ours, for no other
reason
than to earn freedom for people in other nations, its a symbol to be held
with
pride. I know - impossible to explain what that flag means but it
represents
the freedom that all people deserve, to me.

I concur. With the proviso that it might not be guaranteed in the future
that any adventure conducted under that flag is OK.

John