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Just Rambling August 2015

Just Rambling:
During July, I watched portions of the political conventions and, during these conventions and before, I have seen individuals burning the American Flag or carrying flags from other countries. I know a lot of this flag burning happened in the sixties when there were so many protests against the Vietnam war. I didn’t like the flag burning then when I was a teenager and I sure don’t like it now when I am sixty-five. I especially don’t like to see people protesting and carrying another country’s flag. My opinion is, if they want to be under another nation’s flag, then they need to leave America and take up residence in the other nation. If they travel to America, or even if they are born in America, and don’t want to pledge alliance to our flag and our nation, but only enjoy the befits in our nation, then my opinion is that these people should find a new home. For more than 200 years the American Flag has been the symbol of our nation’s strength and unity. It is a source of pride and inspiration for the majority of our citizens but we are beginning to see more and more people that don’t respect our flag or our nation. They want to reap the benefits—so many freebies, but they don’t want to work to earn these benefits. They don’t understand, nor do they care about, the work and sacrifices that generations of Americans have made from its inception in 1776 to the present to make this nation great. American continues to be the greatest and most generous nation on earth, thanks to a capitalist form of government. Many would have it change to a socialist form of government, which might work well until the money runs out. As Margarett Thatcher once stated, “Socialism works good until the other man’s money runs out”. As I was listening to the CBS News one day this past spring, Charlie Rose with CBS News, stated that people who were professing a change to socialism need to move to a socialist country to live for awhile—his implication was that they wouldn’t like it. Maybe that is why, when people are deported from America, many of them seem to find their way back—where they have the freedom to protest and burn our flag. Most countries don’t have the freedoms they enjoy nor the free benefits. Our American Flag was first authorized by Congress on June 14, 1777. This date is now observed as Flag Day throughout America. The first American flag was sewn by Betsy Ross in May of 1776. The colors of the flag all have a definite meaning—Red is for valor, zeal and fervency; the white for hope, purity, cleanliness of life, and rectitude of conduct; the blue, the color of heaven, for reverence to God, loyalty, sincerity, justice and truth. The star symbolizes dominion and sovereignty, as well as lofty aspirations. The constellation of the star within the union, one star for each state, is emblematic of our Federal Constitution, which reserves to the States their individual sovereignty, except as to rights delegated by them to the Federal Government. The symbolism of the Flag was interpreted by Washington as follows: “We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing Liberty.” The United States Flag is unique in the deep and noble significance of its message to the entire world, a message of national independence, of individual liberty, of idealism, and of patriotism. May all Americans, or people in this country that are not yet citizens, always respect and honor our American Flag—“Old Glory”. Van Bennett

Van Bennett