Tuesday is Flag Day in the United States of America.

The Pledge of Allegiance

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.

A few interesting things about our Flag. “On June 14, 1777, in order to establish an official flag for the new nation, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act: “Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” Subsequently, it took three executive orders to establish and confirm the dimensions and proportions for our Flag today. LEARN MORE

The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America’s birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as ‘Flag Birthday’. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as ‘Flag Birthday’, or ‘Flag Day‘.

Wave Your American Flag Proudly!!!

America is unique in that her beginnings were noble. The early pioneers, pilgrims, puritans, and dreamers sought a land of freedom. Even among themselves, there was not complete agreement about if or how to form a local government. But they were intelligent enough to understand that together, finding the common ground and building on that. From there, our nation grew and flourished, I believe, because of in inherent willingness to share, to give of whatever we had to those with less. The first settlers from Europe understood hardship and from their own affliction learned compassion … along with some fear.

The stories of the first encounters with Native Americans are mixed. Some were heroic and honorable, some were not. While there are many things in our history for which we can be ashamed, there are many more acts of kindness and compassion. In my opinion, this compassion has been in past times, a driving force, an underlying current that kept us moving in a good and worthy direction. There are times in our history we forgot our compassion only to be reminded by some cruel and harsh reality. In America, I don’t know one way or another about other places, as my personal experience in other nations is limited, but in America, it has often been true that hard times bring out the best in us.

Look around. Do you see neighbors in need? If you are able to help, consider it. If you cannot, perhaps you might pray. Care. On this Flag Day, care …