Flag Day!

June 14, 2012 - Every June 14th is designated as Flag Day in the United States. Our country and flag has taken a beating over the last three years-plus so today is a good time to remember what the United States stands for and cherish our voice and vote come November. There is a lot of symbolism in our flag and respect for it seems to have frayed it's edges. Our flag flew high over many battles to preserve our individual freedoms. It was a welcome sight when wars came to a close and other countries gained by the sacrifices of our soldiers. A flag is more than a piece of cloth on the end of a flag pole and should be honored by what it represents both in the past and with hopes for the future. The flag that flies over a country makes history. An honored flag carries a strong message, something to be remembered on Flag Day.

My mother was born and raised in Germany. At the end of the war, the Americans came into her little town and were most welcome. One has to remember that there were Nazis and there were German people. The German soliders, for the most part, were defending their country. The Nazis were making a greedy mockery of the country. When the American flag went up in the town square of my mother's town, there was rejoicing. My mother spoke English so was instrumental in helping with finding lodging in homes for the American soldiers. When it was decided to divide up Germany like the spoils of war, every morning my mother would bike down to the town square to see if the American flag was still flying. The morning she arrived to see the Russian flag replacing the American one is the day she escaped from what became East Germany. The flag said everything and she never saw her hometown again. People make the decisions but flags support the decisions.

We shouldn't ever take our American flag for granted. Every time we see one proudly flying, we should send a prayer of thanks to God that it is still flying. We should also pray for the politicians who often do not realize the treasures of freedom and free enterpise we have in this country.