Flag-Waving

I know that many Europeans - myself included - recoil at the kind of overt, hand-on-heart patriotism routinely and proudly displayed here in America. But I have come to realise that there is one huge advantage to flying a flag outside your house, store or wherever.

On days like today, when an important person - or in this case a soldier from Michigan - is killed, schools, emergency services and other state buildings fly their flags at half mast as a sign of respect and to draw attention to the fact that another life has been lost.

For that chance to reflect, if only for a moment, I am deeply grateful.