Photo: Adobe Stock
June 14th, marked as Flag Day in the United States, is not understood by many in the nation. President Donald J. Trump has sought to correct this error, celebrating the nation’s history and military with a parade in Washington, D.C.
Flag Day, established on June 14, 1916, commemorates the historic day of June 14, 1777, when the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman signed National Flag Day into law, giving this day a permanent place in the American calendar.
Too often today, patriotism is forgotten, and history dismissed. Flag Day reminds us who we are.
For patriotic Americans, the flag symbolizes much more than just a national representation. It embodies the nation’s traits: independence, freedom and greatness. The flag has been waved and held high in the American Revolution, Civil War and defining moments like the Battle of Iwo Jima. It has faced terror head-on.
When you see the American flag, you are seeing a banner of blood-bought liberty.
The American flag unites sons and daughters into one nation, embodying an ideology of independence and prosperity, and has been the defining marker for restoring freedom against tyranny in two world wars. The red, white, and blue icon should evoke excitement among the people and fear in the country’s enemies.
Flag Day symbolizes both the past and the future, as the American way of life stands strong. President Dwight D. Eisenhower adjusted the meaning, marking that this more perfect union was held up “Under God.” Eisenhower emphasized God’s role in U.S. history and the direction in which the nation must follow. Presidents such as Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump continued this historic connection.
Flag Day is not about politics; it is about principle and national identity, being proud Americans.
In a day where people are burning American flags and waving those of outside nations, it would do them well to know their history. It was Irish, German, Italian, English, and many other Americans, sons of once immigrants themselves, who stormed the beaches of Normandy and delivered Europe from darkness. It was Navajo, Apache, Cherokee, Japanese, and Chinese Americans who served in both World Wars and Korea united under one flag.
Our diversity never weakened us, because we were always united by one symbol: the American flag, something that Hitler himself feared.
The United States, in its peculiar history, is a nation of immigrants, and one that has always united to bring forth the idea of freedom and democracy. History matters, and the United States has a rich history of standing up against lawlessness in the name of freedom.
Flag Day seems more important this year, because we are watching the very image of our great nation being burned to the ground. However, like the soldiers of World War II, patriots should stand firm and raise the flag even higher.
