Stand Up & Salute!

Today is Flag Day. And I bet you just slapped yourself in the forehead and said “I didn’t know that!” Well, now you do. So sit up a little straighter while you read this. It’s important.

June 14, 1777 the Stars and Stripes was officially adopted as the flag of the United States of America. In 1885 a schoolteacher from Wisconsin, BJ Cigrand, arranged for her students to observe the day as the Flag Birthday. The idea had legs as they say and over the next 30 years more and more schools and civic groups followed suit. However, it wasn’t until May 30, 1916 that President Woodrow Wilson officially established the day as Flag Day and it took until August 3, 1949 for the day to become an official Federal Holiday.

All of this information and much more can be found at http://www.usflag.org/history/flagday.html if you’re interested. I especially like this quote from Franklin K. Lane delivered at a Flag Day event in 1914, “I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself.”

At this moment, men and women are fighting all over the world for all the things the Stars and Stripes stands for. For us. And many of them are dying. Right this minute. So all I ask is that you take a second to think about and appreciate our past, our future and most importantly our present. And maybe take a second to send up a prayer for the ones lost, the ones fighting and the ones that will carry on the fight for many years to come.