In case you forgot, today is Flag Day. The history of this holiday goes back to June 14, 1777 when Congress authorized the Stars and Stripes as the official symbol of the United States.
In 1885, a schoolteacher in Wisconsin placed a flag in his one-room schoolhouse to teach the children about their country and its flag. This teacher called June 14 the Flag’s Birthday. President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed the anniversary of the “flag resolution” of 1777 in 1916. It was President Harry Truman who signed the resolution formally declaring June 14 as Flag Day.
Isn’t Independence Day the birthday of America? Why all the fuss about the flag today? Well, because the 4th of July and Flag Day celebrate two different things: Independence Day celebrates the birth of our nation and the brave men and women who founded it. Flag Day celebrates our national symbol, the symbol of what’s best in our nation and what it can become.
Today our flag wears a constellation of fifty stars: separate and unique, but united, they float in a sky of blue signifying justice and freedom. There are thirteen stripes, one for each of the founding colonies. Seven in red for courage, born and defended by blood. Six in white for purity and hope.
It is fashionable today to disparage America and patriotic feelings. I think that stems from a deficient education in history and civics, something that used to be part of every child’s youth. However, I also think it stems from a sense of entitlement arising in recent generations who do not know what their liberty and freedom have cost in blood and treasure, and who do not realize that there are those who would sacrifice everything to preserve it. They lack a fundamental understanding that since its founding, the United States of America has been, and continues to be, the land of freedom and opportunity for masses of the world’s population. You need only look around your neighborhood to see faces of different colors, religions, and nationalities that chose to live here for the freedom and opportunity they are afforded. Even if they are not yet citizens nor have any intention of becoming citizens, they still recognize the hope they have here.
So today, get your flag out of the closet and hang it outside for everyone to see. May it remind you that you live in the very best place on earth. And if you’re inclined to focus on the many problems we face in our country today, just look at the flag and remember the improbable nature of our nation’s birth. Surely, a country so blessed by God can overcome anything with His help.
Happy Flag Day!
Amen!!! Happy flag day to all! It’s so easy to take our freedoms for granted, but that beautiful and colorful flag is the best reminder! That’s why it grates so much when we see people de-face our flag…that’s our country, who we are, and everything we believe in being desecrated! It’s up to us to let the next generation understand what that truly means, maybe even, oh, I don’t know, recite the Pledge of Allegience in schools again! Now, there’s an idea!