My thirteen stripes alternating red and
white, with a union of thirteen white stars in a field of blue, represented a new
constellation, a new nation dedicated to the personal and religious liberty of mankind.
Today fifty stars signal from my union,
one for each of the fifty sovereign states in the greatest constitutional republic the
world has ever known.
My colors symbolize the patriotic
ideals and spiritual qualities of the citizens of my country.
My red stripes proclaim the fearless
courage and integrity of American men and boys and the self-sacrifice and devotion of
American mothers and daughters.
My white stripes stand for liberty and
equality for all.
My blue is the blue of heaven, loyalty,
and faith.
I represent these eternal principles:
liberty, justice, and humanity.
I embody American freedom: freedom of
speech, religion, assembly, the press, and the sanctity of the home.
I typify that indomitable spirit of
determination brought to my land by Christopher Columbus and by all my forefathers - the
Pilgrims, Puritans, settlers at Jamestown and Plymouth.
I am as old as my nation.
I am a living symbol of my nation's
law: the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.
I voice Abraham Lincoln's philosophy:
"A government of the people, by the people, for the people."
I stand guard over my nation's schools,
the seedbed of good citizenship and true patriotism.
I am displayed in every schoolroom
throughout my nation; every schoolyard has a flag pole for my display.
Daily thousands upon thousands of boys
and girls pledge their allegiance to me and my country.
I have my own law - Public Law 829,
"The Flag Code" - which definitely states my correct use and display for all
occasions and situations.
I have my special day, Flag Day, June
14, which is set aside to honor my birth.
Americans, I am the sacred emblem of
your country. I symbolize your birthright, your heritage of liberty purchased with blood
and sorrow.
I am your title deed of freedom,
which is yours to enjoy and hold in trust for posterity.
If you fail to keep this sacred trust
inviolate, if I am nullified and destroyed, you and your children will become slaves to
dictators and despots.
Eternal vigilance is your price of
freedom.
As you see me silhouetted against the
peaceful skies of my country, remind yourself that I am the flag of your country,
that I stand for what you are - no more, no less.
Guard me well, lest your freedom perish
from the earth.
Dedicate your lives to those principles
for which I stand: "One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for
all."
I was created in freedom. I made my
first appearance in a battle for human liberty.
God grant that I may spend eternity in
my "Land of the free and the home of the brave" and that I shall ever be known
as "Old Glory," the flag of the United States of America.