A short story of passing in the street.

I don’t recite the Pledge of Allegiance, stand for the National Anthem, or recognize prayer as sponsored by public institutions. When a funeral procession crosses my path, though – and it happens quite a bit when you live down the street from a funeral home – I stop what I’m doing, take off my hat if I’m wearing one, and stand in silent solidarity until it passes. That’s not nationalism, militarism, or theocratic hegemony. That’s someone’s family, and we all have those.