Waving our flag is a good way to soothe nerves

Editor:

Barry Paschal is so right (column, Welcome all flag-wavers, Oct. 14). But it is unfortunate that red, white and blue Americans have such short memories. They will rant, shout and wave for a while, then crawl back into the every day habits of life. And when the next big thing that interests them comes along, they will do it all over again. But this is O.K., at least they rally together when the chips are down.

This it is not only healthy but necessary to shake the cobwebs out of your mind. Otherwise the stresses of our life would drive us all crazy. This is why people dont understand Americans.

Example: I am a Catholic and not afraid to say so. However, people have said to me some very mean things. Like, I really dont believe in God as Catholics go to confession on Saturday night, go to church on Sunday, then drink, gamble and raise hell all week and then do it all over again. Maybe some of us do and some dont. Some wave a flag and some dont.

Does that make me a non-believer, or a bad American? I dont think so. Quite the opposite, I would say, as it reminds me of my actions all week long and the price I have to pay for my sins. But that is my opinion.

So wave on flag wavers, my hat is off to you, cause Old Glory is going to fly somewhere, all the time, over this great land of ours. And Catholics, like everyone else, will sin and repent and the world continues to revolve. We are all like the old-fashioned lava lamps The lava rises, meets and falls and repeats again.

But it is so soothing on the nerves. So in some manner, we all must soothe our nerves, and waving our flag is one way to do it. And going to confession is another.

And at least we are free to be able to say God bless America, peace on earth and good will to men, women and children.

Barbara Driggers, Harlem