What is a flag?
A flag is something that waves, that we salute, and that we pledge our allegiance to. It is a piece of fabric, with a pattern that is symbolic of something. For a country, that design can evolve as the country evolves, as in the American flag's 13 colonies to 52 states, without losing its original meaning. Those who design a flag put great thought into it and hope others will find importance in it.
What does the American flag mean to you?
We are without a doubt the most fortunate people in the world. While poverty may be rampant in some parts of the United States, even our poverty can't compare to the poverty seen in other places of the world. Our country is big and carries great importance, if not always favor, in almost every part of the world. Our flag is recognizable.
But what does it mean to you?
If you look at our flag with pride, I salute you. If you look at it and just see the "American Flag", but you don't feel chills when it waves, I understand you. You have never seen it wave above your head as the dust clears after a battle. You have never seen it torn and tattered, but in one piece as a hero emerges from the rubble with it in his arms. For you it waves in your yard on Memorial Day, or in a parade as scouts walk by. You salute it, and you wave, and you cheer and you laugh with your friends, and you celebrate the day.
We are without a doubt the most fortunate people in the world. We are so used to being free we have no idea what it means not to be. We can't imagine going from a peaceful existence to one of hiding from bombs and scavenging for food. But that is what war is all about. If you lived in Europe during WWII, it was your reality. In 1984 the winter Olympics were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, but if you lived in Sarajevo in 1992, war was your reality. As Americans, we havc never truly experienced it. 9/11 brought us to our senses. It was our first real wake-up call to a world that others have lived in all along.
On Memorial Day, as you look at our flag whether it is flying over a car dealership or in a parade, take a moment and imagine the feeling that Francis Scott Key had when he wrote "In the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there."
What is our flag? It is a symbol of freedom and hope.
On the news yesterday was a WWII veteran who was placing little American flags on the graves of fallen soldiers. In a country like ours, amongst the sales, the parades, and the picnics we need to remember that the flag is not just a piece of fabric. It carries so much more and until you see it raised from the ruins, until you understand why it is carried into battle, and until you feel the hope that a soldier has felt, that streams from it like a beacon to others who see it, you will always just see the Red, White, and Blue proudly carried in a parade.
Today I will be at a picnic with friends. We will celebrate and have fun. I hope that WWII veteran is with family and friends. I know one thing. When he looks at the flag this weekend, there may be a tear in his eye as he remembers comrades who didn't come home. And I will take a moment and try to imagine just a small piece of what he must have experienced. In memoriam.
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It is interesting how we take our blessings for granted because we have not experienced what it's like not to have them. As you have said, so many of us in the USA have not seen "the other side". We have been cloistered in our "fortunate circumstances". I suppose it's human nature not to truly be able to "get it" unless you've been there, and I think this is one of these instances. Memorial Day is there for us to try, though. It's important for us to stretch our consciousness to the extent we're able to do that, so that we can better appreciate what we do have.
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