The Flag is Still Here
“Oh this is the night its a beautiful night, and we call it bella notte
Look at the skies, they have stars in their eyes, on this lovely bella notte”…
This song was playing at the little Italian bakery that my husband and I love to go to after church. There are several other people with families and small children as well as some lovely elderly singles, who have made this bakery their “home” or restaurant of choice” for a nice and relaxing family meal with blueberry cream cheese muffins, home made ice tea, soups and sandwiches and a variety of delicious desserts.
These people I see, have almost all been to church as well, in the morning, as their children are dressed up in their Sunday best and are also on their best behavior, eating politely after saying grace and giving thanks.
When I see harmony and ongoing strength of family and a public place like this little bakery, I feel very hopeful about our country, our citizens and our flag.
Our flag is a representation of the harmony between different ways of thinking. I think that what makes the American flag unique is that the different colors, that could represent very different ways of thinking politically, still have the same basic fabric of operating under God.
The American flag is red, white and blue, and blue, came to mind when I heard that Keith Urban song “blue ain’t your color” and it made me laugh to think about it from that perspective. Blue is an important part of the flag, and it flies harmoniously with red, my favorite color, and while they are seemingly oppositional politically, I think that they fly together quite well in our republic, with white being representative of all the other people who belong to other parties or who are undecided.
The flag flies in a perfect symphony of individuality, that is harmonious, because of the love between fellow country men, who all care about family, no matter what their political beliefs, and who all appreciate the power of God, no matter how intense the disagreements may be.
How do we in America, stay in perfect symphony? I think we are able to do this because we are mirroring the “perfect symphony” that happens when people love each other and it starts with the love between the foundational elements of a family, the father and mother and reaches down to the children.
My mom shared a song labeled “perfect symphony” and it was sung by two artists, Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli, another lovely Italian, and she said that it gave her goosebumps every time she listens to it. Here are two very different men with very different lives who can create something perfect and enduring without any hesitation, because of a shared love of beautiful music and family. I agree with mom about how beautiful this is…and like her, I believe that some songs say it all.
Like that song, America the Beautiful, says it all. Concerning the American flag, there is also a YouTube video “The star spangled banner as you have never heard it” that describes Francis Scott Key during a hard time in our country. Francis Scott Key wrote about how he was looking to see if the flag was still there when he was on a ship with prisoners of the British and the British were bombing a fort full of Americans, hoping to see the flag go down so we would lose our independence.
The story goes that Francis Scott Key kept going down to the bottom of the ship where the American prisoners were, telling them that the flag was still there, because the British had said that if the Americans gave up the fort, and put down the flag, they would stop bombing the fort. But this country survived, because there were families, and singles and moms and dads and children, who wanted to grow up free from tyrannical rule. They wanted to live with God as their ruler.
The flag never went down and even in the morning after a night of intense bombing The Flag was still there. It turns out that the flag had kept flying through the night because, in the hands of volunteers, who knew bombs were aimed at the flag it was held high, even though those individuals knew that they would be killed if they flew the flag. Once they were hit, another volunteer continued to fly the flag. America was not defeated and the flag is still there… America is still here, our flag is still here.
In the midst of division, when I go to a baseball game and hear the National Anthem sung with respect and pride, I know THE FLAG IS STILL HERE.
When I am at a restaurant, and people are sitting close with their families, saying grace, and being kind to each other, THE FLAG IS STILL HERE.
When I am at church, no matter how large or how small, and I see the community honoring God, THE FLAG IS STILL HERE.
When I see court systems, and leaders in government, and institutions, who continue to abide by the ten commandments, and the laws of God in their actions, THE FLAG IS STILL HERE.
My sister, who works out at Orange Theory, wore shirt with an American flag for 9/11, when another patron said the shirt was offensive to her. Knowing that my sister can and will, still wear the American flag any time she wants, because our flag symbolizes freedom for everyone, I know THE FLAG IS STILL HERE.
My mom lives in a neighborhood where many of the residents are afraid to share their loyalty to the flag but my mom is not one of those, and when you drive up to her home, you can see clearly and THE FLAG IS STILL HERE.
Little EEvie, loves the story of the flag, and whenever she gets a chance, she shows those colors, and proudly acknowledges that it matters to her so THE FLAG IS STILL HERE.
We are not divided as a nation, and we are all in favor of freedom, and we continue to be one nation Under God, as a people who want honesty, integrity and truth, with liberty and justice for all, not just on 9/11 but on every day.