Long May She Wave

I often go back and forth between patriotic romanticism and cynical dismissal of symbols of my country, like the flag (should that be capitalized?)

The Stars and Stripes
Is it an anachronistic, useless symbol, imbued with too much meaning by our veterans?

Is it the rich and timeless physical representation of all that makes our country great, and still requires reverence and protection?

I typically have disdain for placing a lot of importance on a symbol of anything, especially when revering the symbol seems to become more important than respecting the entity it symbolizes.  In the case of the flag, does burning it or dishonoring it in some way to what extremes should it be defended?

But on the other side, the richness in tradition that our flag represents, I find very appealing.  As much as I complain about some of the politics in this country, the liberties and advantages that I've been fortunate to take advantage of have made the red, white and blue a very meaningful representation of all I've been afforded as a citizen of this country.

How do other countries view their flag?

Another Meaningless/Meaningful Symbols
Such as my South Park avatar

Don't you DARE disrespect this symbol of me!

Readers' Comments/Questions
Someone (maybe on Facebook) asked me with all my travel to Canada, why I didn't get "Nexus" to expedite my travels.

I actually do have my Nexus card.  It doesn't have a whole lot of impact unless I go through really large airports with huge crowds.  Edmonton and Calgary aren't that big, although I still use it pretty regularly.