For Brian hating America is preferable to hating himself. The flag symbolically provides him with an object for his free floating anxiety and keeps him from succumbing to the debilitating and crushing weight of his true self-loathing. Let him attack the people and institutions in this country. Everyone sees through his petty and continuous assaults on all things American: from Palin to Bush, his hatred keeps him from thinking about his life. His hatred keeps him alive.