Respect the Flag

"When you see the Stars and Stripes displayed, son, stand up and take off your hat, somebody may titter. It is in the blood of some to deride all expressions of noble sentiment. You may blaspheme in the street and stagger drunken in public places, and the bystanders will not pay much attention to you; but if you should get down on your knees and pray to Almighty God or if you should stand bareheaded while a company of old soldiers marches by with flags to the breeze, some people will think you are showing off.

But don't you mind: When Old Glory comes along, salute, and let them think what they please! When you hear the band play " The Star Spangled Banner " while you are in a restaurant or hotel dining room, get up even if you rise alone; stand there and don't be ashamed of it, either!

For of all the signs and symbols since the world began there is none other so full of meaning as the flag of this country. That piece of red, white and blue bunting means five thousand years of struggle upward. It is the full-grown flower of ages of fighting for liberty. It is the century plant of human hope in bloom.

Your flag stands for humanity, for an equal opportunity to all the sons of men. Of course we haven't arrived yet at that goal; there are many injustices yet among us, many senseless and cruel customs of the past still clinging to us, but the only hope of righting the wrongs of men lies in the feeling produced in our bosoms by the sight of that flag.

Other flags mean a glorious past, this flag a glorious future. It is not so much the flag of our fathers as it is the flag of our children, and of all children's children yet unborn. It is the flag of tomorrow. It is the signal of the " Good Times Coming. " It is not the flag of your king-it is the flag of yourself and of all your neighbors.

Don't be ashamed when your throat chokes and the tears come, as you see it flying from the masts of our ships on all the seas or floating from every flagstaff of the Republic. You will never have a worthier emotion. Reverence it as you would reverence the signature of the Deity.

Listen, son! The band is playing the national anthem - "The Star Spangled Banner." They have let loose Old Glory yonder. Stand up-and others will stand with you.

This tribute to the flag is offered to the country in appeal to all men and women of all races, colors, and tongues, that they may come to understand that our flag is the symbol of liberty, and learn to love it.
--------------------------------------
Author: Alvin M. Owsley. It was on the backside of an American Legion page entitled "The Flag Code." It is a product of the American Legion's National Americanism Commission circa 1923. Seems fairly applicable today.

Divisiveness is bringing down our country. 

There have always been differences of opinion on every topic, and there always will be, hopefully. We seem to have more splinter groups than ever before, all shouting to be heard, or protesting over something or other. Our Congress is Bought and Sold, and has been for years. Once in office, they could care less about us. Their salaries are far outweighed by their benefits legal and not so legal.

I still encourage people to vote. It's our only weapon left. Too many Americans since 1917 have died for our freedoms not to vote. I am sure the dead would love to vote just once. But for crying out loud, be a term-limit person and vote out all incumbents in place for two or more terms. Diane Feinstein from CA is about 87 and deems herself fit to run again. This is nuts. I am so weary of voters not caring and just voting a straight party ticket, or simply recognizing a name and checking that box.

Our spirialing-down education system isn't helping matters. Our young people enter adulthood totally un-equipped to make good conscious choices. We used to have a three-part, Checks and Balances govt where in each branch kept an eye on the other. No longer true, blatantly so.

The Executive Order power presidents have has morphed from sparing the Thanksgiving Day turkey, to making each president one himself. Thoroughly and totally NOT what the FF had in mind when they set up this Checks and Balances thing. Grown adults can't/won't lean across the aisle and talk with, not to, each other. Meanwhile, our enemies are lapping it all up. 

We don't have to worry about invasion. We're doing just fine destroying ourselves from within.

What happens when the next black motorist mis-behaves during a traffic stop and any color officer ends up shooting that person? Is the dis-respectful kneeling going to continue?

What happens when a black couple shops for a housing loan and is rejected time and again, or offered a higher rate than anyone else? Is the dis-respectful kneeling going to continue?

What happens when a black person shoots another black person, yet again? Will there be kneeling? Protests?

What happens when young blacks rage in a mall brawl, or have a punch-out in a park? Will there be kneeling? Riots? Public and private property destroyed?

White folks, and others of all tints, are abhorred whenever people of any tint are mis-treated, whether they take to the streets or not. Please don't mis-interpret our silence as acquiescence and approval. We do not.

We are however, absolutely mystified, when a black motorist doesn't know how to behave/respond during a traffic or street stop, no matter the reason or lack of one. The proper response simply is NOT rocket science. When a police officer contacts you, be polite. Talk politely. Move very slowly if you must. Answer the questions, politely. Accept the ticket. Accept the harassment. Also accept name and badge number, note the time and location, and immediately report the officer's actions to that officer's superior. You can be assured the matter will be investigated.

You can also be assured that if you act the fool during a contact, you are going to create problems for yourself. Not keeping your hands in clear view, sudden movements, running away, driving away, yelling, assaulting, throwing, whatever, will bring a response you are not going to like. How hard is this?

I understand, I get it, that blacks are followed around retail stores as if they were about to steal. I get that they get stopped for driving/walking.sitting while black. But their reaction always determines what happens next. I don't believe kneeling is going to change any of this.

We citizens of all shades, we immigrants/sons and daughters of immigrants all, willing or not, are perfectly aware our melting pot nation is not perfect. We always will have problems and we must always be vigilant in identifying them and coming up with viable solutions. This kneeling, this refusing to stand and appear, will not change anything substantial. Point has been made. It's time to move on.

We have struggled with equality mightily since the end of the Civil War. We have a long ways to go. Blacks do appear to be their own worst enemy, however, merely by the way a tiny minority lead their lives. The rest of the imbalance: in properly funding decent schools with great teachers in poverty zones, with proper pay rates, with sufficient job opportunities, with equal maintenance and repair of neighborhoods and provision of parks and playgrounds, can far more easily be addressed. There simply are too many blacks in prison and across the nation's crime statistics sheet, in proportion to their total percentage of the population. That fix, is not in stadiums, arenas, marches, riots. It's in the mirror.