Bring Flags to the Center, Again

For the Sake of Posterity, Remember Veterans

I am not big on people putting a flag in their yards. I am not big on the Pledge of Allegiance for numerous reasons. I do not care for vulgar displays of the flag but I am not judgemental about it. However, the US flag is about community. When Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner, he demonstrated the whole point of a flag. Through an intense battle with rockets and bombs in the air, throughout the night, by morning “our flag was still there”.

Yet, the left will defame and attack the US flag and the country as racist, oppressive, homophobic, and colonialist. So let us take a moment with a leftist.

Andrew: So you object to the US flag?

Leftist: Yes, cause it is racist and supported slavery.

Andrew: What about the good stuff the US brought about?

Leftist: Not having any of it. All evil.

Andrew: But you are listening to Michael Jackson.

Leftist: Yes. So?

Andrew: Well, according to an HBO documentary, he licked little boys’ butt holes and had sex with them.

Leftist: All lies. And the music is good!

Andrew: Talk about brown-nosing!

Lefist: (fingers in ears) La! La! La! La! La! Not listening to you! La! La! La! La! La! La!

Andrew; No wonder he got a nose job.

Leftist: (fingers in ears) La! La! La! La! La!

Andrew: Hey, song titles gave him away from “Smooth Criminal” to “Beat it!”

Leftist: (fingers in ears) La! La! La! Still not listening to you! La! La! La! La!

Andrew: Had he lived longer he would have an album titled Mister Groomer’s Neighborhood or Let Me Be Your Bidet.

Leftist: (fingers in ears) La! La! La! La!

All right, let me get back on topic. The fact is history will always have a dark side as people cannot control everything, but only their own lives. And for American lives, the force has always been towards expanding freedom and many have died to make it so.

Recently, I decided to sit aside at a parade instead of joining it. I became substantially disappointed and my dismay grew. I expected flag bearers, a color guard or honor guard, or some sort of flag bearer to be present but there was none. Perhaps COVID has caused us to forget traditions and protocol or perhaps I was being a bit old-fashioned. But the more I asked, the more upset I became. With division and accusations of insurrection and so forth, where was the honor for the US flag? Is this why military recruitment is down (https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/08/19/applications-service-academies-plummet-amid-recruitment-and-pandemic-woes.html)?

There are many organizations with color guards, honor guards, and flag bearers. The Boy Scouts, the numerous ROTC units (Reserved Officers Training Corps) as well as numerous veteran and heritage groups. People need to renew bringing the US and state flags to the front and center of our community events. Businesses flying the US flag should be praised but they should make a point of retiring tattered flags for a new flag. However, many have become lazy about this. You can help change this by encouraging your local community by merely asking: “who is going to lead the parade with the US and Nebraska flags?” Also, support the organizations which provide such flag bearers.

But there is more to this. A flag is about war, conflict, victory, and defeat. Many have died for the sake of the flag and for all it represents. We must respect and encourage interest in such history, including in our families by detailing our family trees. There are the Sons of the American Revolution (https://www.sar.org/), the Daughters of the American Revolution (https://www.dar.org/), the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (https://suvcw.org/) and yes, Sons of Confederate Veterans (https://scv.org/). There are others as well. Once you join such organizations, you will have a greater depth of the meaning of what it is to be an American as well as make touch with your ancestry. If you know there is something to your family history but have not organized it, I recommend Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.

However, back to something simple. You have seen a parade and have been part of big community events. The flag deserves a place of honor and should not be skipped over as mere protocol or etiquette or a crowd pleaser. Men have sacrificed so others can be free. I am not asking much compared to the man pictured below, a marksman in the 69th Division of the Army, born in Illinois, shot by a German soldier in a half-track near Kassel in Nazi Germany. Too much of me to ask you to knit as he did, but perhaps you can bring the flags back.