I am your Flag
I was born on June 14th, 1777.
I am more than just cloth shaped into design.
I am the refuge of the World's oppressed people.
I am the silent sentinel of Freedom.
I am the emblem of the greatest sovereign nation on earth.
I am the inspiration for which American Patriots gave their lives and fortunes.
I have led your sons into battle from Valley Forge to the bloody swamps of Vietnam.
I walk in silence with each of your Honored Dead,
to their final resting place beneath the silent White Crosses, row upon row.
I have flown through Peace and War, Strife and Prosperity,
and amidst it all I have been respected.
My Red Stripes....symbolize the blood spilled in defense of this glorious nation.
My White Stripes....signify the burning tears shed by Americans who lost their sons.
My Blue Field....is indicative of God's heaven under which I fly.
My Stars....clustered together, unify 50 states as one, for God and Country.
"Old Glory" is my nickname, and proudly I wave on high.
Honor me, respect me, defend me with your lives and fortunes.
Never let my enemies tear down from my lofty position, lest I never return.
Keep alight the fires of patriotism, strive earnestly for the spirit of democracy.
Worship Eternal God and keep His Commandments,
and I shall remain the bulwark of peace and freedom for all mankind.
I am your Flag.
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On a park bench an old man was sitting there.
I said, "Your old courthouse is kinda rundown,"
He said, "Naw, it'll do for our little town."
I said, "Your flagpole has leaned a bit,
And that's a Ragged Old Flag you got hanging on it."
*
He said, "Have a seat", and I sat down.
"Is this the first time you've been to our little town?"
I said, "I think it is." He said, "I don't like to brag,
But we're kinda proud of that Ragged Old Flag."
*
"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there
When Washington took it across the Delaware.
And it got powder-burned the night Francis Scott Key
Sat watching it writing 'Oh Say Can You See'
And it got a bad rip in New Orleans
With Packingham and Jackson tuggin' at its seams."
*
"And it almost fell at the Alamo
Beside the Texas flag, but she waved on through.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee, Beauregard, and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on that Ragged Old Flag."
*
"On Flanders Field in World War I
She got a big hole from a Bertha Gun.
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp and low by the time it was through.
She was in Korea and Vietnam.
She went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam."
*
"She waved from our ships upon the briny foam,
And now they've about quit waving her here back home.
In her own good land she's been abused...
She's been burned, dishonored, denied and refused."
*
"And the government for which she stands
is scandalized throughout the land.
And she's getting threadbare and wearing thin,
But she's in good shape for the shape she's in.
'Cause she's been through the fire before
and I believe she can take a whole lot more."
*
"So we raise her up every morning,
Take her down every night.
We don't let her touch the ground
And we fold her up right.
On second thought I DO like to brag,
Cause I'm mighty proud of that Ragged Old Flag."
Does the First Amendment give us the right to desecrate the American flag? Or is the flag a sacred symbol of our nation, deserving protection by law? Tough call?
For those who want to light Old Glory on fire, stomp all over it, or spit on it to make some sort of "statement," I say let them do it. But under one condition: they MUST get permission from three sponsors.
First, you need permission of a war veteran....Perhaps a Marine who fought at Iwo Jima? The American flag was raised over Mount Surabachi upon the bodies of thousands of dead buddies. Each night spent on Iwo meant half of everyone you knew would be dead tomorrow, a coin flip away from a bloody end upon a patch of sand your mother couldn't find on a map.
Or maybe ask a Vietnam vet who spent years tortured in a small, filthy cell unfit for a dog. Or a Korean War soldier who helped rescue half a nation from Communism, or a Desert Storm warrior who repulsed a bloody dictator from raping and pillaging an innocent country.
That flag represented your mother and father, your sister and brother, your friends, neighbors, and everyone at home. I wonder what they would say if someone asked them permission to burn the American flag?
Next, you need a signature from an immigrant. Their brothers and sisters may still languish in their native land, often under tyranny, poverty and misery. Or maybe they died on the way here, never to touch our shores.
Some have seen friends and family get tortured and murdered by their own government for daring to do things we take for granted every day. For those who risked everything simply for the chance to become an American, what kind of feelings do they have for the flag when they Pledge Allegiance the first time?
Go to a naturalization ceremony and see for yourself, the tears of pride, the thanks, the love and respect of this nation, as they finally embrace the American flag as their own.Ask one of them if it would be OK to tear up the flag.
Last, you should get the signature of a mother. Not just any mother.
You need a mother of someone who gave their life for America.It doesn't even have to be from a war.It could be a cop,or a fireman,maybe a Secret Service or NSA agent. Then again, it could be a common foot soldier as well.
When that son or daughter is laid to rest, their family is given one gift by the American people; an American flag.Go on. I dare you. Ask that mother to spit on her flag.
I wonder what the founding fathers thought of the American flag as they drafted the Declaration of Independence? They knew this act would drag young America into war with England, the greatest power on earth. They also knew failure meant more than just a disappointment.
It meant a noose snugly stretched around their necks. But they needed a symbol, something to inspire the new nation.
Something to represent the seriousness, the purpose and conviction that we held our new idea of individual freedom.Something worth living for. Something worth dying for.
I wonder how they'd feel if someone asked them permission to toss their flag in a mud puddle?
Away from family, away from the precious shores of home, in the face of overwhelming odds and often in the face of death, the American flag inspires those who believe in the American dream,the American promise, the American vision...
Americans who don't appreciate the flag don't appreciate this nation.
And those who appreciate this nation appreciate the American flag.
Those who fought, fought for that flag. Those who died, died for that flag. And those who love America love that flag. And defend it.
So if you want to desecrate the American flag, before you spit on it or before you burn it ...
I have a simple request. Just ask permission. Not from the Constitution. Not from some obscure law. Not from the politicians or the pundits.
Instead, ask those who defended our nation so that we may be free today.
Ask those who struggled to reach our shores so that they may join us in the American dream. And ask those who clutch a flag in place of their sacrificed sons and daughters, given to this nation so that others may be free.
For we cannot ask permission from those who died wishing they could,just once ... or once again ... see, touch or kiss the flag that stands for our nation, the United States of America ...
Thank you Chris Christopher,retired Army Officer,for sending this to me.
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So the next time you see a Soldier,Airman,Sailor or Marine,tell them thanks.For without them you would not have the freedoms that you enjoy.
Too many people take their freedom for granted.They do not realize the sacrifice made by all those before them is why they enjoy such freedom.
According to the Supreme Court you have the right to Burn the Flag.This is one of the decisions the Supreme Court has made that I vehemently disagree with.
When I see someone burn our flag it makes me so sick to realize these same people probably never served a day of their life in the defense of our country or protecting the freedoms that we take for granted.
I am sure that everyone that has been in the service or has had a loved one in the military feels the same way when they see someone burn our flag.
I debated as to what song to use on this page.I finally chose Taps since so many have died serving our country.
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