The American Flag never meant much to me. It hung in every classroom. We'd pledge allegiance every morning, but it was just a meaningless ritual. We had no idea what we were doing. It was just a symbol - the flag that represented our country. Ok, cool. As an American you'd hear stories about the old time immigrants seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time and knowing that they'd "reached freedom." They'd see the flag and know that they were free, that everything would be ok now. 1/3