Flag Day - June 14, 2012



"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."


Tomorrow, Thursday, June 14, 2012 is Flag Day.  When I was growing up, I don’t ever remember hearing about this day.  As an adult, I’ve grown to appreciate this day more than July 4th.  There isn’t a National Holiday, parade, or even a neighborhood celebration and yet the flag, along with the Bald Eagle, is a symbol of freedom recognized throughout the world.


The Star Spangled Banner


by Francis Scott Key
O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming;
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On that shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam--
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream;
'Tis the Star-Spangled Banner; O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where are the foes who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave;
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war desolation;
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto, "In God is our trust";
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!


No one can take away our pride in this country or our God.  Enjoy this day and every day that we live freely and are able to speak without fear of retribution.  So wave your flag with honor and pray with thanksgiving during your moment of solitude.

In closing, please visit The Jersey Journal to read this beautiful poem "It's Only a Piece of Cloth" written by Carl Shapiro. 

Two other websites you might enjoy are The History of Flag Day and National Flag Day Foundation.
 

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