I was out. My daughter and I held our candles. As we live in a fairly quiet cul-de-sac community, there was no real way to know how far reaching this was to be. We saw another 3 people in our little row of townhomes out with their candles as well.

We went in at about 7:30. Then, we had to run some errands. Videos from the 2 days my daughter was out of school, food to get for dinner.

And I rounded a corner and saw a crowd the likes of which I never thought I would all gathered at night here in my fairly smallish suburban Washington, DC community. They stood along the road, waving flags shining their candles, and calling out to the passing cars. We all honked and waved back as we went by.

And later on, a sole teenage girl with a candle and a flag, weeping on a busy corner.

Gargoyle, what you have listed might be what that flag holds for you, but why not try to understand that yours is not the only perception? I was again deeply touched by my fellow Americans. I am proud of my flag right now, not because of the awful things that may have been done under it (and no nation is perfect anymore than her people are perfect), but for the times when this country has shown it's strength not in acts of bullying, but in acts of quiet resolve and loving, compassionate support.