I'm reproducing this short essay that was posted on DailyKos today. It originated here.
Published on Wednesday, April 3, 2002 by Common Dreams
What the American Flag Stands For
by Charlotte Aldebron
The American flag stands for the fact that cloth can be very important. It is against the law to let the flag touch the ground or to leave the flag flying when the weather is bad. The flag has to be treated with respect. You can tell just how important this cloth is because when you compare it to people, it gets much better treatment. Nobody cares if a homeless person touches the ground. A homeless person can lie all over the ground all night long without anyone picking him up, folding him neatly and sheltering him from the rain.
School children have to pledge loyalty to this piece of cloth every morning. No one has to pledge loyalty to justice and equality and human decency. No one has to promise that people will get a fair wage, or enough food to eat, or affordable medicine, or clean water, or air free of harmful chemicals. But we all have to promise to love a rectangle of red, white, and blue cloth.
Betsy Ross would be quite surprised to see how successful her creation has become. But Thomas Jefferson would be disappointed to see how little of the flag's real meaning remains.
Charlotte Aldebron, 12, wrote this essay for a competition in her 6th grade English class.
If only our elected leaders possessed the wisdom of a sixth grader.
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damn! charlotte should consider running for office-- or better yet, becoming a writer for The Daily Show.
she's obviously got both her head on straight and a well developed sense of sacrcasm.
if only there was a stupidity restriction for the President instead of an age restriction.
I was laughing out loud. In tears. Can't type well.....
THis is on my fridge and in my emails. I would LOVE to send it to the Jesus Loving fundie set, and still just might, except that they already think we are commie loving pinko canadians after our last attempt at humour-------
No international incidents this week please- I don't need them- LOL!!!
Oh, evil monkey you truly live up to your name today!!!
Another brainwashed public screwel kid. Im sure her Liberal teachers are very proud. Maybe next year she can climb a tree and save it from being cut down to make school paper.
Maybe we should all live in caves and worship Allah. Maybe we should all walk and sell our evil SUV's.
This world is doomed.......
Yes, the world is doomed, when morons insist on taking rights from a human and bestowing them on a piece of cloth.
Incidentally, watch your footing on that slippery slope.