"So we raise her up every morning
We take her down every night,
We don't let her touch the ground,
and we fold her up right,
On second thought, I do like to brag,
'Cause I'm mighty proud of that ragged old flag..."
-Johnny Cash
If you do not already know, tomorrow is Flag Day. A time to honor the adoption
of the national flag of the United States by a resolution of the Second Continental
Congress on June 14, 1777. The Flag Resolution stated, "The flag of the thirteen
United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, that the union be
thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."
Since that time, that new constellation has grown to include 50 stars,
representing the 50 states of what has become the greatest
Constitutional Republic that the modern world has ever seen.
There is no nation on the face of the earth like the United States of America.
The stars and stripes of Old Glory represents the epitome of freedom
to millions of people here and around the world.
And yet, in more recent days, you would never know this.
In the past weeks, we have seen our flag desecrated in the streets of Los Angeles,
spit on, stomped on, and set on fire to the cheers of angry mobs conducting what the
media repeatedly and falsely calls, "peaceful protests" over the Trump Administration's
enforcement of our nation's immigration policies, and the deportation
of mainly criminal illegal aliens.
I believe the worst of all affronts is seeing the flag of Mexico being
exalted over Old Glory and touted as the " new national flag of California".
This single initiative taken by these so-called, "peaceful protesters"
not only reveals woeful ignorance of our national history, but in
particular, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which officially
ended the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848.
In the terms of the treaty, Mexico agreed to cede to the United States the
land which later became the state of California, as well as the future states of
Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona, not to mention parts of Colorado
Wyoming, and Kansas, which would eventually be added to the Union.
Furthermore, the vile assault on our beautiful flag is a cruel slap in the
face to every member of our military, past and present, who has
honorably served this nation, in wartime and in peace, and
this includes my father, Anthony Brida Sr., who was
a veteran of the United States Marines Corps.
I'm not sure my Dad would even recognized the nation he once served
with honor, but I am certain that country music legend Johnny Cash's
singular tribute to the "Ragged Old Flag" would make him very proud!
Happy Father's Day in Heaven, Daddy! Semper Fi!
(1974)
Johnny Cash
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