What's in a Flag?

Good Morning All:
  Long time, no post.  I've had a rough go of things for a while.  Sorry.  My work has been stressful enough that I've not been sleeping and have had stomach aches.  I was ready to simply quit, to walk away from my career and something I'd put a lot of literal blood, sweat and tears into.  Thankfully, it all came to a head this week and things will be changing for the better.  I hope.

Having said that, please allow me to come to my next blog post.  Symbols.

Flags are the internationally recognized symbol of a country.  They are the symbol of all that makes a country great, all that gives pride and ownership for those who see the country as their own.  Conversely, it is used then as a symbol of the country when those who strongly disagree with actions taken by that country.  No, I'm not talking about the Confederate Flag, the so called Stars and Bars, I'm talking of the United States of America flag.  For some, this is an extremely powerful symbol, and the mere idea of changing that symbol, of using that symbol in part or by whole to mean other things becomes quite offensive.  I disagree.

While some see this symbol and view it as an adulteration and abuse of the American Flag and all that it stands for, I see it as a beautiful thing.  In this flag, I see the true unity that has been missing from our country for years.  UNITED being the operative word, but for the lgbt community, we have been ostracized and scorned, abused and disowned, hated and deviled, for no other reason than loving someone differently than those in power believe right and proper.
  The American flag is supposed to indicate liberty, freedom, and yet we in the lgbt community are asked to pay our taxes like everyone else but hide our passion, hide who we love and be dismissed as making poor choices in a skewed love life.  This Rainbow Flag declares that we are truly part of this country, not some dark secret sect, and that we are free.  To me, this is a very powerful symbol.