Just as property purchased by me belongs to me, so is my life my property, to do with as I choose. I do not belong to any country's government due to the accident of my birth.
Statistically, I'm lucky to be alive at all when you consider the uncountable eggs and sperm, as uncountable as the sand on a beach, which even should a tiny fraction fuse, nearly all will fail to develop to adulthood. Such is the plethora of life on earth as we know it. We're no more special in the cycle of the physical earth than any particular star is in the universe.
Too many Americans have their priorities in reverse. They idolize the symbol but have forgotten the provenance of the symbol. Much as dogs trained to salivate at the sound of a bell, so do too many Americans salivate at the sight of the flag.
It's the intangible freedoms and responsibilities as outlined in the American Constitution and Bill of Rights that should be held in reverence, not pieces of fiber and refined petroleum.
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