A bit of cloth

C.E. "Bud" Brann

Staff Writer

cebrann@ruraltel.net

People who support burning the American flag say it’s no big deal; it is just a “bit of cloth”. If it is just “a bit of cloth”, what is the point of burning it? You might just as well burn your old underpants, mightn’t you?

Of course it’s more than a bit of cloth. It’s a symbol. If it were not a symbol, not more than a bit of cloth, no one would be interested in burning it.

It is a symbol of victory, and a symbol of defeat. When Marines faced a hail of bullets to raise that “bit of cloth” on Mt. Suribachi in Iwo Jima, it told the world of pride, bravery, effort, loss, blood, sweat, and tears…… and it told of victory.

When it was lowered in Viet Nam, it told the world of defeat and shame. The first act at a new embassy is to raise that “bit of cloth” and the last act when leaving an embassy is to lower that “bit of cloth.”

When America’s gold medal Olympic athletes wrap that bit of cloth around their shoulders as they take a victory lap, or when they stand at attention on the podium as their flag is raised, often with tears of pride in their eyes, it is not just a bit of cloth. It is a symbol of their pride in their country and in their achievement, just as are the flags of gold medal winners from every other country.