I always get the chills when I hear a great deal of patriotism - might be due to growing up in a country where shouting out 'I'm proud to be German' would have gotten you a lot of weird and hostile looks.

But apart from that (I'm quite comfortable with my nationality now ), I've never seen the point of putting that much on symbols, be it a flag, a cross or whatever. It's just a symbol and not everybody is going to feel the same about it. And if someone burns a flag, I might not like the ideas behind it, but it doesn't take anything away from my values, beliefs or whatever.

I think the reactions after the Mohammed caricatures were released shows where being too fanatic about symbols and beliefs can lead to... What harm do I do to you personally if I burn a US flag to protest against Bush for example? It might not be the most elegant way for protest, but it doesn't do any real harm, either. It only destroys a piece of fabric, not the ideas behind it for those who believe in them.

*waves German flag happily to support our football team*