A great time to think of the symbolism of the American flag and the rules and ritiuals (http://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/flag-rules-and-rituals.aspx) that have developed around it. I wonder whether the new generation gets the same inner sense of awe and pride I still get when at the playing of the Star Spangled banner or the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. I didn’t grow up especially patriotic, but the flag has always meant something special to me. It represents the ideals of this nation and the grandeur of the history of modern democracy. Perhaps revisiting some of the historical moments in the history of our flag and country might kindle pride buried deeply in your conscience. What do you think of and remember?
Its rich history includes the official resolution in of the Second Continental Congress in 1777 describing the stars and stripes design, the highly mythologized birth of the flag from the hands of Betsy Ross (http://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/making-the-flag.aspx), the description of the “star spangled banner” still flying after the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British in 1814 (remember the War of 1812?) that inspired the young layer Frances Scott Key to write a poem that later became our national anthem in 1916, and its 27 official versions (each time a state was added), and, of course I remember all the debates and emotions evoked by the flag burning protests of the 1960s.