Television brought the brutality of war into the comfort of the living room. Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America - not on the battlefields of Vietnam.

The world's battlefields have been in the heart chiefly more heroism has been displayed in the household and the closet than on the most memorable battlefields in history.

More than any other setting - more than battlefields or boardrooms or a spaceship headed for intergalactic travel - I'll put my money on the family to provide an endless source of comedy tragedy and intrigue.

The American flag is an enduring symbol of liberty democracy and justice. It is fitting that the House act to protect it as we approach our nation's birthday and as our men and women in uniform rally behind it in Iraq's battlefields.