mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time .  mr. speaker , i rise today to defend the flag of the united states of america .  throughout the history of our nation , our flag has stood as the ultimate symbol of our freedom .  from yorktown to fort mchenry , from iwo jima to baghdad , our troops have fought behind our flag in the defense of liberty .  their dedication and their sacrifice in defense of freedom demands that we take this action today .  and who can forget on september 11 , 2001 , when firefighters in new york pulled our flag out of the rubble of the world trade center and hoisted it in defiance of terror ?  and who can forget the flag that hangs in the american history museum here in washington , d.c .  that was draped over the scarred pentagon as a show of our nation 's resolve ?  we should not , we must not , and we can not allow the desecration of our national and , mr. speaker , as was mentioned , 50 states have already passed resolutions indicating that they want to ratify this resolution we are debating today .  let the majority of americans ratify their allegiance and pledge their allegiance to our flag .  