I took our flag with me early this morning when I went outside to pick up our morning newspapers. I placed Old Glory in the holder and went on out to the end of the d rive to get the papers. I picked them up and turned around and there was the flag, flying gloriously in the early morning breeze with the sun spreading its rays over it. It was such a pretty sight that I stopped to take it in and think about what that flag reperesents.
The very first Flag Day was June 14, 1777. On that day, in the midst of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress adopted the stars and stripes as the offical flag of our country. It wasn't until exactly 100 years later that the the birthday of our flag was observed. From then on, veterans groups, school children and others made note of the June 14th date to honor our flag.
In 1916, Woodrow Wilson established June 14th as an annual national celebration. Then President Truman and Congress made it a permanent national observance in 1949.
I grew up in an era when patriotism was at a high. The WWII years made Americans proud of their country and what it stood for, what it fought for. What better symbol to show that pride than our flag? When our troops overseas won a battle, they raised our flag on foreign soil time and again.
It seems to me that patirotism is not as great today. Instead of banding together as Americans, we split off into groups who like this, hate that, are offended by this, taunt other groups, and more. We are getting close to being as divided as we were during our own Civil War. It is my earnest desire that we unite as a country, that we remember we are all Americans.
As writers, we can help that cause. Consider writng something patriotic today. Not a rant to put down this or that group but something that will bring us together, something that will make us proud to be Americans. We do have much to be proud of in this country. Write an essay. Write a poem. Write a short story. Put the flag in the forefront of whatever you write today.
Celebrate America! Celebrate Flag Day! Unite with your fellow Americans today and every day.
No comments:
Post a Comment