Almost a year after the continental congress had declared independence from Great Britain ,on June 14, 1777, they commissioned the creation of an official flag for our new nation. "Resolved: That the flag of the United States be made of 13 stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation."
Although it was informally celebrated on June 14 since 1885, Flag Day didn’t become an official celebration until it was named such by an act of Congress and President Truman in 1949.
Today, however, it seems many have forgotten what the flag represents, and "Old Glory" seems to make news only when it is desecrated, ridiculed or burned.
It is in the news when protesters at the funerals of brave American soldiers use children and the flag to “make their point” claiming the right of free speech just as have others through the years. Such acts bring a feeling of revolution to most Americans who love their country.
An infamous decision of the U. S. Supreme court in 1989 proclaimed flag burning a constitutionally protected right of free speech. Even so to most Americans it remains a reprehensible act and those who engage in such behavior are considered to be lacking in patriotism and decency.
For over 200 years, the "Stars and Stripes" has been a symbol of freedom, liberty and economic opportunity to the poor, hungry and downtrodden of the world. Though it may be tattered and torn by the forces of nature and the hazards of war, the flag has been held in high esteem by those who have fought and died to preserve its honor. Representing hope for the oppressed and safety for the afflicted, the American flag in the past has been applauded, cheered, and venerated here in America and around the world.
The father of our country, George Washington, explained our flag saying, "We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing Liberty." The colors of our flag – red, white and blue – were later adopted by the Continental Congress in 1782 for our Great Seal. Charles Thompson, secretary of the Congress at the time, explained to the Congress the meaning of those colors: "White signifies purity and innocence, red, hardiness and valor, and blue ... signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice."
Henry Ward Beecher, a Congregationalist minister during the Civil War, observed that when a person sees the flag he should see the nation itself: "Our flag means, then, all that our fathers meant in the Revolutionary War; all that the Declaration of Independence meant; it means all that the Constitution of our people, organizing for justice, for liberty and for happiness, meant." Throughout our history, Beecher explained, the flag has stood for the "Divine right of liberty in man. ... That it meant, that it means, and, by the blessings of God, that it shall mean to the end of time!"
In today’s cynical, indulgent and self-centered society where virtue, morality and patriotism seem to be all but forgotten, many take the many blessings of living in this free society for granted and use our cherished flag for silly protests, crass commercialism and promotion of immorality. But today as we celebrate Flag Day, let us instead dwell on what the flag really means. I hope some will take the time to recall those brave young men who in 1945 raised the flag on the island of Iwo Jima after one of the fiercest fights of World War II, inspiring others to continue to fight. I hope we will remember the flag planted on the moon in 1969 that showed we can conquer seemingly impossible new frontiers. We must not forget the solitary flag at Ground Zero that stood amidst utter disaster, demonstrating our unity and perseverance in times of great sorrow. Please remember all our brave men and women defending our freedom and our nation in the military both at home and abroad. Let us return the "Red, White and Blue" to its rightful place as the grand symbol of an extraordinary country blessed by God.
The Star Spangled Banner Lyrics
By Francis Scott Key 1814
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
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