Flying Free?
I held off crying at a friend’s funeral, until the military honors. An American flag was lifted from the casket, folded by two soldiers as taps was played, and handed to my friend’s son.
I have held an American flag with the Patriot Guard Riders, a group of civilians that honor fallen heroes of our military. When preparing the flag to be transported, I explained to my 12 year old son how the flag should never touch the ground out of respect. My son then asked to stand with me, holding a flag of his own. I was a proud American and a proud dad that day.
People have told me they can always find my house. “It’s the one with the American flag on it.”, they say. Sadly, sometimes it is the only house on the street with one.
I have a friend who was born in Iraq. She told me that during the tyrannical reign of Saddam Hussein, each family was forced to have two pictures of Saddam in their household, no exceptions. She described how her father would spit on the picture when no one was watching. They did not have the freedom to take down the picture without facing dire consequences. Today they are free to take down their pictures and hang an Iraqi flag wherever they want. And that is wonderful for them.
But I cannot raise an American flag in my front yard. You heard it right. Here in America; in Lexington, Kentucky; in my neighborhood, I am forbidden from flying the American flag if it resides… on a flagpole – an obvious home for a flag, wouldn’t you say?
I turn the big 4-0 this summer. I asked for two things for my birthday. One was that everyone that came to the party visited my PresidentAdams.com web site and told 40 friends. And two, a flagpole from which to hang the stars and stripes in my front yard. As I prepared to order the flagpole, my wife thought it would be a good idea to call the homebuilders to make sure a 20 ft. pole wasn’t too high. She was informed that I can fly a small flag attached to the house, but no flagpoles are allowed according to the neighborhood association. My lawyer friend tells me, “I’m stuck.”
No majestic flagpole with our country’s beautiful flag flowing in the breeze to look at in the morning. No reminder at the end of the day of the freedom and greatness and potential that this country has. No honor in lowering the flag to half staff when the time is called for. No expression or statement to the degree of patriotism that burns in my heart.
Why am I so upset about a flag? Because it’s not just a pretty piece of cloth on a piece of metal. Because in today’s twisted society I can legally BURN the flag in my front yard, but not run it up a pole.
The American flag is the emblem of a great nation. It is a banner that has been used to rally troops, lead charges and mark victories. It is a symbol that is saluted by men and women in uniform who pay a price to defend us. It is the icon that stirs respect in the form of taking off your hat, or placing your hand over your heart. It is a symbol of defiance rising out of the rubble of the World Trade towers. It is a representation of national pride and courage, about which slogans, nicknames, and songs are written: Old Glory, Stars and Stripes Forever, These colors don’t run! It’s a grand old flag; it’s a high flying flag! Don’t tread on me!
It is a flag we pledge our allegiance to. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The flag represents the best of us and the best in us.
It is a flag about which our national anthem is written. Oh say, does that star spangled banner yet wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Evidently not at my house. Perhaps we are not as free as we think we are.
Steve Adams was born and raised in Ohio, graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Computer Science degree in 1988, and subsequently moved to Lexington KY. He has worked at Lexmark International since 1989 and has been a Part Time Local Pastor at St. Luke UMC since 2004. He is married with two children. He is not politically correct, but is politically active. He is a registered Republican, married to a registered Democrat, and running for President of the United States as a write-in candidate on the independent ticket. No joke. You can read all about it on www.PresidentAdams.com or e-mail Steve directly at Steve@PresidentAdams.com.
PresidentAdams
I have held an American flag with the Patriot Guard Riders, a group of civilians that honor fallen heroes of our military. When preparing the flag to be transported, I explained to my 12 year old son how the flag should never touch the ground out of respect. My son then asked to stand with me, holding a flag of his own. I was a proud American and a proud dad that day.
People have told me they can always find my house. “It’s the one with the American flag on it.”, they say. Sadly, sometimes it is the only house on the street with one.
I have a friend who was born in Iraq. She told me that during the tyrannical reign of Saddam Hussein, each family was forced to have two pictures of Saddam in their household, no exceptions. She described how her father would spit on the picture when no one was watching. They did not have the freedom to take down the picture without facing dire consequences. Today they are free to take down their pictures and hang an Iraqi flag wherever they want. And that is wonderful for them.
But I cannot raise an American flag in my front yard. You heard it right. Here in America; in Lexington, Kentucky; in my neighborhood, I am forbidden from flying the American flag if it resides… on a flagpole – an obvious home for a flag, wouldn’t you say?
I turn the big 4-0 this summer. I asked for two things for my birthday. One was that everyone that came to the party visited my PresidentAdams.com web site and told 40 friends. And two, a flagpole from which to hang the stars and stripes in my front yard. As I prepared to order the flagpole, my wife thought it would be a good idea to call the homebuilders to make sure a 20 ft. pole wasn’t too high. She was informed that I can fly a small flag attached to the house, but no flagpoles are allowed according to the neighborhood association. My lawyer friend tells me, “I’m stuck.”
No majestic flagpole with our country’s beautiful flag flowing in the breeze to look at in the morning. No reminder at the end of the day of the freedom and greatness and potential that this country has. No honor in lowering the flag to half staff when the time is called for. No expression or statement to the degree of patriotism that burns in my heart.
Why am I so upset about a flag? Because it’s not just a pretty piece of cloth on a piece of metal. Because in today’s twisted society I can legally BURN the flag in my front yard, but not run it up a pole.
The American flag is the emblem of a great nation. It is a banner that has been used to rally troops, lead charges and mark victories. It is a symbol that is saluted by men and women in uniform who pay a price to defend us. It is the icon that stirs respect in the form of taking off your hat, or placing your hand over your heart. It is a symbol of defiance rising out of the rubble of the World Trade towers. It is a representation of national pride and courage, about which slogans, nicknames, and songs are written: Old Glory, Stars and Stripes Forever, These colors don’t run! It’s a grand old flag; it’s a high flying flag! Don’t tread on me!
It is a flag we pledge our allegiance to. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The flag represents the best of us and the best in us.
It is a flag about which our national anthem is written. Oh say, does that star spangled banner yet wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Evidently not at my house. Perhaps we are not as free as we think we are.
If anyone, then, asks me the meaning of our flag, I say to him - it means just what Concord and Lexington meant; what Bunker Hill meant; which was, in short, the rising up of a valiant young people against an old tyranny to establish the most momentous doctrine that the world had ever known - the right of men to their own selves and to their liberties.~Henry Ward Beecher
Steve Adams was born and raised in Ohio, graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Computer Science degree in 1988, and subsequently moved to Lexington KY. He has worked at Lexmark International since 1989 and has been a Part Time Local Pastor at St. Luke UMC since 2004. He is married with two children. He is not politically correct, but is politically active. He is a registered Republican, married to a registered Democrat, and running for President of the United States as a write-in candidate on the independent ticket. No joke. You can read all about it on www.PresidentAdams.com or e-mail Steve directly at Steve@PresidentAdams.com.
PresidentAdams
posted by Steve Adams | 10:28 PM
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