Celebrate America!

As hubby & I were enjoying breakfast at dawn this morning, I remarked that we were having "classic Fourth of July weather." The early sun was shining through a light haze, and we knew that we'd be conceding the day to Mother Nature and closing our windows within an hour or so and seeking refuge in our air-conditioned cocoon for most of the day.

First, though, there were errands to run, so off we went. Before breakfast, I hung our flag out in front of the house, continuing a routine instilled in my by my Dad, a WWII vet. When I was a little girl, I remember accompanying him at the break of dawn every patriotic holiday to display the flag from our porch railing. Each year, he'd impart a bit of flag lore. "We need to wait a few minutes, honey. The sun's not up quite yet. AND we need to be sure to bring it inside at sunset, since we don't have a way to light it," he'd say. Or (the most disapointing of all) "We can't put it out, honey. It shouldn't be flown in bad weather" (he called it "bad weather" because I was too young to understand the meaning of "inclement". And I remember being bitterly disappointed the year that he found that our flag was faded and had a tear in it that almost wasn't visible. "Sorry, honey, we'll have to wait until the store opens to get a new one. You shouldn't fly a damaged flag."

That ritual continued throughout my girlhood... Memorial Day, Flag Day, Labor Day, but most importantly, on Independence Day and it forged one of the most special, deeply-ingrained bonds with my Dad. I thought of him this morning as I hung our flag just after sunrise, smiled to myself, and thanked him once again for teaching me love of flag and country, almost from the time I could first walk.

But I digress... back to our errands. As we drove slowly through our subdivision, I began to count the number of flags being displayed along our route. Sadly, I could count them on the fingers of one hand.

Is this any way to celebrate the birth of the greatest country in the world, imperfect though she (and each of us) may be? What has happened to our national pride? How are children learning the important lessons of citizenship, if not at their parents' knee? Has Independence Day become just an excuse for another round of cook-outs or getaways to break up a long, hot summer? How many of us (especially those under 30 years old) really stop to reflect on the significance of the date and the celebration?

Not enough, I fear.

If you have children, or grandchildren, teach them how to respect the flag (and if you don't know how yourself, then learn! - any VFW post can help with a pamphlet.... or just Google "flag etiquettte", for gosh sakes!) Remind them, as they shoot off or oooh and aaah over fireworks, that those beautiful patterns in the night sky are a reminder of all the sacrifices made by so many throughout our history, but especially at the time of its birth.

And above all, please try to find a way to give America a combination birthday and thank-you gift for all that she's given you... visit a veterans' hospital, thank a soldier, volunteer to work on a Habitat house or at your local animal shelter for a few hours. There are so many possibilities that there's "something for everyone".

America may be going through a "bad patch" right now, uncertain and politically divided, but maybe if every single citizen found a way to say thank you to their country on this day, we could start to heal the tatters in the flag and everything Old Glory represents.