My father, the Marine
Uncle Grady, the Airman
On this November 11, I'd like to honor the men and women who have fought for our republic by reprinting and maybe editing a bit a comment I posted on the Oh!pinion blog today. S.W Anderson had written about the silliness of some kids at a community college who were refusing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
It has also seemed silly to me to pass an amendment or other special laws to require respect for our flag. Those, like the college kids above, who disrespect the pledge and our flag only bring disrespect to themselves. To paraphrase Lincoln, the brave men, living and dead, who fought for the flag and the republic for which it stands, have consecrated Old Glory, far above our poor power to add or detract.
To me, the pledge is not to a piece of cloth, but to the “republic”, and therefore to the Constitution that sets out the basic democratic principles of government and rights of people. The first three words say it all, “We the People…”. The heroes who have risked, and often given, their lives, living out that pledge, were not risking all only for purple mountains, fruited plains, or gleaming cities — though we love those things also.
The men and women we honor today risked their lives to keep ours a nation of “Liberty and Justice for All”.
Here is the link to a post on my blog that I think relates to this topic.
No comments:
Post a Comment