Tattered Flag In St. Joseph's Neighborhood
Southwest Baltimore City
My Girl, 8-Year-Old Nisha Crystal Jackson
In Front Of Her House (And Mine)
Like all of you, there are many days in the year that I absolutely love. Christmas, Easter, and St. Patrick's Day of course, but there are some others that don't make everyone's list - Constitution Day, Groundhog Day, and today, June 14th, Flag Day to name a few. I chose to start my blogging adventure on this day because I just love Flag Day, always have and always will. Although not an official U.S. holiday yet, it is a holiday in my mind and at my house. You can tell from Nisha's (above) face, that she loves the day as much as I do. Moving on, Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the flag many moons ago. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14th as Flag Day. In 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress. Now that you know some of the "holiday's" background, let us move on to what I really want to talk about - tattered and unsightly flags. There aren't too many things that are more beautiful to me than a United States flag displayed proudly outside a home or building, being waved by parade participants or being held by a young schoolchild while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. On the other side of all that beauty you will sometimes find a not so good-looking Old Glory. Weatherbeaten, tattered, run-down flags. We have all seen them here and there. What do you think when you see a sad, faded, not so proudly displayed flag? My heart drops and I wonder if the person who is responsible for the flag sees the same thing I do. What I see is disrespect in its greatest form for one of the most incredible looking symbols of Americanism I can think of - red, white, blue, stars, and stripes all at the same time, at the same gathering place. By the way, I don't know if Americanism is a word yet, but you get my point. If your flag has seen its better days, please dispose of it properly and purchase a new one. I bet you deserve it.
Happy Flag Day.
Angela
No comments:
Post a Comment