If our flag could speak
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If
the American Flag could speak, I think this is what it might say:
I
am your Flag, and I am proud to be your Flag. Together we live in the greatest nation in the world. A
free nation where I can fly freely in the breeze outside your home, on the
street, in your schools and courthouses.
I
am not just a piece of brightly colored cloth, I am a symbol that represents
something great. My red stripes indicate hardiness and courage. My white is a
symbol of purity and innocence. The blue color is vigilance, perseverance, and
justice.
I
was in the hand of my first President in the blood and snow of Valley Forge. I
was there when my nation was born - small, with a wilderness at her back and
seas at her sides, and not one friendly neighbor to whom she, as a struggling
infant orphan, could call for help in distress.
I
saw that child survive and grow strong. Most people forget, but I still see in
my memory those bright and brave young men and women who died at Pearl Harbor,
Normandy, Coral Sea, the Asian Jungles, throughout Europe, Korea and Vietnam.
And
when they died for me, I wrapped them in my love and draped my honor over their
caskets. Yes, I must speak because their voices have been silenced forever. I
fly proudly over their green graves, praying that wars might end forever. Never
forgetting them, I rise every morning to watch over the graves of our finest,
whose years were short but whose service was longer than we can ever measure.
I,
the American Flag, have lived long, traveled far and endured much. A million
lives and more were sacrificed to give me the right to speak.
You
can climb any mountain! Possibilities? They're unlimited - except as you limit
them with a cynical, bitter, negative attitude! Yes, when you see me in church,
school or flying on the streets - listen to my stars and stripes as I cry out to
every boy and girl, every man and woman. "Dream Your Dreams" -
"Dare To Believe" - You Can Make It In America.
I
am the American Flag. Be
humble enough to know where your glory and greatness come from.
"Old
Glory," I'm called. What is my glory? My glory is the freedom that I
give to every law respecting man, woman and child.
I live in
the hearts of all people who yearn for freedom to laugh, to love, to pray, to
play, to marry and to have children.
I
have called out to countries, "Come to my shores, all who are tired, poor,
oppressed, and yearning to breathe freely. Come and I will be your guarantee of
liberty." I say to my people, "Be proud, be humble, and last,…
be renewed!
If
you get a lump in your throat when you hear the Star Spangled Banner, or break
out in a cold chill with goose bumps when I pass by waving freely, or tears
shade your eyes when you sing "God Bless America", never think you are
getting sentimental or weak. No,
that is a sign of being strong, loyal, and dedicated to a cause, a principal -
"one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for
all......."