Hey YOU! You there with the American Flag flying on your car!

I know you think you are being patriotic, but to me, you are really being the exact opposite of that. You are being disrespectful to the flag, and the USA, and you are in reality the symbol of exactly what is wrong with America.

The flag I know, the one that draped the coffin (Died during World War II) of my Mother's brother (And my namesake), was made of cloth. cloth made right here in the USA. it was sewed right here in the USA. My Grandma used to bring it out of the display case on special occasions and let us touch it and feel it, the silk stars and the satiny fabric of the stripes. To this day, I can remember how that flag felt and I and my Brother considered it an honor to fold and place in the case that she proudly displayed on her mantle. Grandma took especial care to see that it was always in perfect condition.

The flag I know, the one that I folded time after time in the Boy Scouts, and as a special student activity in school, was made of cloth. Cloth made right here in the USA. The flag I know was sewed right here in the USA. By people that were employed right here in the USA. By a US company that paid workers well and paid taxes in the USA. I always took special delight in the fact that how you fold the flag is how you also fold a paper football. And I would take extra effort to make them perfect every time too.

The flag I know, the one that I saw draped over my friend's coffins during the Vietnam war, was made of cloth. Cloth made right here in the USA. The flag I know was sewed right here in the USA. By people that were employed right here in the USA. By a US company that paid workers well and paid taxes in the USA. In my middle class neighborhood, seeing these flags was commonplace. The flags that fly over the Vietnam Memorials, in both Washington and Sacramento and containing my friend's names, are made of cloth.

The flag I know, the one that draped my Uncle Gene's coffin, (first man on the beach at Normandy as an unarmed medic who lived until 1999 bust seldom talked about himself and the war) was made of cloth. Cloth made right here in the USA. The flag I know was sewed right here in the USA. By people that were employed right here in the USA. By a US company that paid workers well and paid taxes in the USA. That flag was put on display in the family home, along with my namesake's and both are a cherished keepsake of the family.

The Flag I know was a keepsake something special, something to care for. And we knew the rules. Taken down at sundown and put up at sunrise (many times with Taps playing) and hats off during the anthem. Never to touch the ground. RESPECT THE FLAG.

I may have disagreed with the policies of the country, but when the flag was shown, I gave respect to the symbol of the country. Hats off, Hand over heart, no talking. The flag was special, and still is, no matter the squabble with policy.

The flag you are flying? Well that flag is made of OIL. (nylon you know) OIL that came from another country. It was made by slave labor in a foreign land (China, Bangledesh, or some other third world country) by a company that more likely than not does not contribute in any way towards this county the USA. Not via taxes or anything other than selling cheap ass crap at a stores across the country.

The same stores that do not pay living wages to the people that work there. The same stores that evade taxes by sending billions of dollars overseas in order to avoid taxes.

That, to me is disrespectful, not only of the flag, but the country you profess to love when I see your foreign merchandise flapping in the breeze as you ride around town, at all hours of the day or night. Please stop disrespecting the flag and the country.