Just a piece of cloth.
But when a little breeze comes along, it stirs and comes to life
And flutters and snaps in the wind, all red and white and blue...
Then you realize that no other piece of cloth could be like it.
It has your whole life wrapped up in it...
The meals you eat, the time you spend with your family,
The kind of things boys and girls learn at school,
The strange and wonderful thoughts you get in church.
Those stars on it...
They make you feel just as free as the stars
in the wide, wide, deep night.
And the stripes...
they are the bars of blood
To any dictator who would try to change this way of life.
Just a piece of cloth, that's all it is
Until you put your soul into it and give it meaning;
Then it is the symbol of liberty and decency
and fair dealing for everyone.
It is just a piece of cloth
Until we breathe life into it,
Until we make it stand for everything we believe in
And refuse to live without.
Tonight we went to an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for a friend. Sam and Jim were responsible for making sure we had a flag there and then Sam was part of the Color gaurd to present the flag. He had with him a bunch of papers printed from usscouts.org about our beautiful stars and stripes. As I read the above poem I knew immediately that I was going home and posting this on my blog. I love everything our flag represents and stands for, and I am moved every time I have the opportunity to witness the raising or retiring of it.
I took this picture on Main Street, Disneyworld, in 2003.
2 comments:
Suzee, this is beautiful. I wish that everyobe could realize that living under this flag is an honor. God Bless America! May we continue to be worthy of His blessings...
Yup. The Boy Scouts of America do their best to uphold and teach the values of respect to this country. No wonder the socialists want to get in the way of their goals. Too bad more people don't realize the importance of what the scouting program teaches.
Post a Comment