It's not likely that people outside the US will really understand the role of the country's flag, yet no one can comprehend the Strange Case of the United States of America without making sense of the Mysteries of the Flag.
Some Americans pray to the flag. In fact, a divine nature - a godlike rank - is probably given to the flag by a high percentage of those Americans who use the word patriot or patriotic a lot in "normal" conversation. Feel free to snicker or laugh out loud if you wish, but Americans' attitude toward their national flag could indeed remind us of a strange and secret cult.
In case the flag's importance be doubted, know that nearly every kid in the US grew up in schools where the day begins as follows . . .
Everyone stands and places the right hand over the heart. They recite: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
