Why?
I am going to post my original response to Cerwin in a somewhat edited form, as I must have taken his question the wrong way. Here you you go! :thumbup:
"I know you don't know my history, but my Dad was originally from Northern Wisconsin (Pretty much just across Lake Superior from Canada) and we used to spend quite a bit of time up there and I had quite a few Canadian friends, drank Canadian beer and whiskey and listened to Canadian bands. I don't know if in your travels you have spent much, or any time in that part of our fair country, but if you did you would know that many businesses and privately owned homes display both the US and Canadian flags. Brinkaplan could probably attest to this as well.
As I write this, I'm listening to the Canadian band, Rush, who you may be familiar with even at your young age. A line to one of their lyrics states "You can't have something for nothing, you can't have freedom for free!" Which brings me to my next point. You may have been traveling during Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, or soon after the WTC Disaster. All times when most US Citizens proudly display our colors in support of those who have sacrificed so much for not only our freedom, but the freedom of others as well, including the French, Chinese, and English. I remember as child that we had many WWII veterans on our street who would raise and lower the flag every day in rememberance of those who did not make it back. The flag means so much more to them than just some sort of blind nationalism, as it does to me as well.
My Dad a Marine, fought in WWII, made three beach heads, and served as an Honor Guard in China, survived to have ten children, of which I'm the last. I watched him get buried in God's green earth, with a 21 gun salute reverberating through the graveyard, in a coffin covered by the flag, which was then presented to my mom by my nephew who was also serving in the Marine Corps.
Those Canadians who fought against Hitler and Hirosito I'm sure are proud as well, and those may be the flags that you see raised in your own country."
Make sense? :)