Don't Fly It...Don't Pledge It...Don't Sing It...

Unless you are going to stand by the principles.  Unless you truly believe in what the flag is SUPPOSED to stand for; unless you are willing to be true and stand up for what it is supposed to represent.

"On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed an act establishing an official flag for the new nation. The resolution stated: 'Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.'  Today the flag consists of 13 horizontal stripes, seven red alternating with six white. The stripes represent the original 13 Colonies and the stars represent the 50 states of the Union. The colors of the flag are symbolic as well; red symbolizes hardiness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocence, and blue represents vigilance, perseverance and justice."  (Taken directly from the PBS site on the History of the American Flag:  http://www.pbs.org/a-capitol-fourth/history/old-glory/)

In 1892 Francis Belamy wrote: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." In 1923 it was modified to:  "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."  Finally in 1954 it was altered (against the objects of the Belamy's daughter) to:  "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

In 1814 Francis Scott Key wrote a poem which, in part, said:  O 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 through 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; O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."  It was set to music and in 1931 was officially made the national anthem.

Our flag, our pledge and our anthem are symbols; not of what we are, but of what we would like to be.    We know we are NOT the land of the free.  We know that there is not liberty and justice for all.  But we hold these items to be what we aspire to be. What we CAN be.

What we CAN be IF we hold ourselves accountable.  IF we stand for liberty and justice for all and speak out when there is not.  IF we act with valor, purity and justice. If we work towards making our country TRULY the land of the free and the home of the brave.  

We need to do just that.  Not just go through the motions.  We need to make these things MEAN something because they ARE something.  They are the cornerstone of what we pride ourselves on but have not yet achieved.  They are a goal to which we ALL need to continue to work towards.  

If we do we have the chance to really be the land of the free.  A land where there IS liberty and justice for ALL.

Isn't that a goal worth working for?