A rectangular flag that represents the United States and all of its ideals and values. It is composed of a blue square with 50 (or however many states there are at the time of
the flag's production) white stars in the uper lefthand corner. The rest of the flag is 13 alternating red and white stripes. Legend has it that the
seamstress Betsy Ross created the first American flag.
Treatment of the flag is dictated by the Flag Code. Breaking of the flag code is not punishable (protected by the 1st Amendment).
The American flag is often scrutinized for various reasons and desecrated. The people responsible fail to realize that it is not the
flag that is so importnat, it is what the flag represents. The flag is held in such esteem because some feel that their respect of the flag is a good way to show their respect for the Nation and our ideals.
TO ALL THE FLAG BURNERS ETC: The flag that you
desecrate, insult, burn and defile stands for the same values that protect your right to do so(
1st Amendment). Without that right (in a dictatorship) you could be executed for said actions.