Flag Folder

Ug. It's time for a rant and this place seems appropriate. My grandfather was wounded physically and I would go as far to say mentally as well in world war two. He was a paratrooper and he served his country proudly. I remember every fourth of July watching him stare into the sky and watch the fireworks. I knew what he was remembering as he heard the loud booms of the fireworks. He was re-living war. His favorite song was "Amazing Grace". He was proud of his country and was thankful for the freedom that he had. I am absolutely certain had it not been for him, I would not feel the way I do about my country today. However, I am starting to realize that It is more of a pride for the past of this country, and not that of the future. What brings this up? I Was watching the news and saw a story about a homeless man who saw that a flag had fallen down. He gathered it up and folded it properly and went on his way. I would have to assume that he didn't think anyone was watching. But there was a surveillance camera. And it caught him. And now there has been quite the hoopla about him. So I thought I would read some more on the story and looked it up on the internet. Sadly I came across a website that painted a much uglier picture of the story. Comments such as "when I see 14 red and white stripes and 50 stars all I see is a flag. What's the big deal". and "he probably got stupid hobbo beans all over the flag". I am thinking to myself. "Who are these people. And why are they so horrible". So I will say this right now. I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we don't believe in worshiping idols. I don't worship the flag. When one respects the flag they are not worshiping it, only showing respect for all of the things that it represents. So no. It's not just a flag. Its a representation of the constitution, the blood spilt in order to preserve freedom, the women who raised their children alone because their husbands lost their lives protecting our country, and our system of government (though many people complain about representatives it could be much worse). So yeah. Maybe that guy had a plan. He knew that the camera was watching him and that someone would think that his act of respect was something amazing. Then, people would send him money and then he could do his drugs or drink his rum, or whatever. But I'm going to go ahead and just forget about the fact that he is homeless and that he has probably made some pretty stupid mistakes in his life. Join the club for heavens sake.

So I guess it comes down to Karma. What goes around comes around. Maybe some of the people in this country should show a little bit more respect for their country or they may find themselves on a beach in a foreign country with a gun in their hand.