Flag Day, 2022
On this day, June 14th, in 1777, the Continental Congress formally adopted what has become known as the “Betsy Ross Flag” (although seamstress Ross did indeed sew the flag, it was designed by Francis Hopkinson) as the official flag of what was then known as the “United Colonies.” It was comprised of thirteen stripes, alternating red and white, to reflect a certain amount of independence that the states wanted to retaine, but also included a field of blue with a circle of thirteen stars to signify that the colonies were now UNITED. The celebration of Flag Day was made official in 1916 by a declaration from President Woodrow Wilson, but the day had been commemorated in various ways for many years beforehand. In 1906 the composer George M. Cohan (Yankee Doodle, Give My Regards To Broadway, Over There, and many others) wrote “You’re A Grand Old Flag.”
It is with mixed emotion, however, that I reprint Mr. Cohan’s lyrics here:
You’re a grand old flag
You’re a high-flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave
You’re the emblem of
The land I love
The home of the free and the brave
Ev’ry heart beats true
Under red, white and blue
Where there’s never a boast or brag
But should old acquaintance be forgot
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.
As I said above, I have reprinted the lyrics with mixed emotions, simply because of just how DATED those lyrics have become. Can anyone one IMAGINE Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez singing along? Or Ilan Omar? Or Bernie Sanders? Or Jake Tapper? Or Colin Kaepernick? Or, for that matter, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi?… I couldn’t either. It is a sad sad day, indeed, that these malcontents, and others of their ilk, have taken the very symbol of our country, one that had, for over two centuries, brought Americans together in a shared love of, and gratitude for, flag and country, and have instead, reshaped that flag into something that divides us. My hope is that, the rest of us, as loyal Americans, can see beyond these spiteful, ungrateful, disloyal and self serving people and once again, stand in front of the flag and, with one voice, sing: “You’re the emblem of the land I love…. And forever in peace may you wave.”
Bravo !!! Patrick ??