To the person behind the camera in this video--the one whos speaking out of sheer ignorance--I say this: Its an Old Glory Patriotism thing, you wouldnt understand. I am asking you in all earnestness to share my post if you read the following words about our national flag and agree wholeheartedly: ITS NOT JUST A PIECE OF CLOTH TO ME. It stands for our republic, and as a former member of an USAF honor guard team charged with raising the flag on base at reveille and lowering it again to the sound of Taps being played by the bugler, at which point EVERYBODY on base would stop in their tracks and turn toward the base flag, stand at attention, and render a proper salute, I feel a certain indescribable pain in my gut on behalf of all those who have pledged their allegiance to Old Glory...to the Republic, for which it stands, and served her honorably only to see it set ablaze so lackadaisically and disrespectfully (calling it just a piece of cloth). Too many have fought and died in service of the Republic for which it stands for such a travesty to take place right in front of those guardsmen who are currently following in the footsteps of the greatest sort of men and women our nations history has recorded--a history of true heroes that young Mr. Brown shall NEVER find himself written into, that is, unless the laws of physics, mathematics, and science be undone in one fell swoop at the same moment when every human brain on the Earth spontaneously explodes. But I digress... I, with my fellow honor guard brothers in dress blues, have presented the base flag to the widow of a fallen General who served our country with honor and distinction--all of this after a silent ceremony in which the flag was solemnly lowered and folded meticulously, then given to her as a high honor on behalf of her country. To her, I can assure you, it was not merely some cloth. I dare not try to presume what all that particular flag meant to her, but I can guarantee you that it holds a place of honor somewhere in her home, and it will be passed down to her children, and to their children, and so on...because its more than just a cloth. The tribute was made to pay condolences, to acknowledge the Generals service to his country as well as his wifes sacrifice--every service members family makes a sacrifice to this great nation as their loved ones serve, and to defile or deliberately burn Old Glory so flippantly is one of the greatest insults to one of the greatest minority groups around: the United States Service Men and Women, and their beloved families. It is precisely because the flag has value to me that I shall never burn one out of anger at my government. I will give due honor to it...for it stands for a republic that I do not want to see burned from the face of this Earth anytime soon. I remember the story of Betsy Ross...how she was charged with creating our young nations flag. Its a beautiful story. So much national pride that Ive seen fade away in my relatively short lifetime...its heartbreaking. Ive wept over this realization. Truly, I have. I remember singing Im Proud to be an American as a boy, and feeling genuine pride as I sang it alongside my peers. Guess what? I sang it alongside my fellow Airmen in basic military training, with an even deeper sense of pride. I remember saying the Pledge of Allegiance every single morning from K-12, and feeling (truly) as if I was a part of One Nation, Under God. Indivisible. With Liberty, and Justice for All. Now, I feel as though it is squarely up to my wife and me to impart such pride and patriotism to my children, for it seems all but lost from our culture, or disallowed in our schools because it uses verbiage that should never be stricken from the Pledge of Allegiance, nor from the Declaration of Independence, nor from the Constitution of the United States of America (God, Creator, Divine, etc.). So, yes...Old Glory has always been something more than just some piece of cloth, and it always will be. I feel pity for those who fail to see the error of their misunderstanding of our flag. Of course, I feel righteous anger as well, but mostly I just feel pity for them, and I have elected to forgive them, for they know not what they do. They have forgotten, or perhaps they never really knew. All I know is this: there are many like myself who believe that Old Glory is more than just a piece of cloth. Maybe we are another minority group, by definition of sheer numbers, although I hope not. Yet, of this I am certain: our actions will NEVER bring such shame upon our nation on such a global stage as that of those who now feel the full weight of my pity. To those pitiful people I say this: You have no clue as to the harm youre doing. So, again I say to all who read these words...forgive them, for they know not what they do. Help these people to learn to love the flag, for the ideal republic for which it stands...that American dream which is worth living and dying for, if you can just turn your eyes and ears to patriots who keep (or, kept) the faith in America. Patriotism is not born from just pride of what America is at this moment in time. Its true origin is rooted deep in the fertile soil of a shared vision of what America is capable of being if we stand united. God bless America. Let it come to pass that we may be that shining city on a hill once again, for all the world to look upon and admire. This, I fear, cannot come to pass if our flag is nothing more than a piece of cloth. Please share this message, but more importantly, please pray for our nation.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 23:55:21 +0000
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