The Forgotten Holiday

Today is Flag Day.

Flag Day is what I call the forgotten holiday. For the most part, there are no sales, school is over for the summer, so no child in the country has been looking forward to a break in classes. You can ask an average American what day is Flag Day and I would say most would just give you a blank stare. Of course, you could also ask people "What day does New Year's Day fall on?" and you would get the same 'deer caught in the headlights' look.

How sad.

I remember growing up in Fredericksburg, VA and how the streets downtown on National Holidays were lined with Old Glory to celebrate our strength and unity. These flags were not these piss-ant flags you can keep in your pocket or purse or that you see on auto antennas, but they were full-sized flags on metal poles that were place in specially concreted holes on the edge of the sidewalks. A slight breeze would whip hundreds of flags to engulf the sidewalk with Red, White & Blue that would swell the pride in even the hardest of hearts.

When the need for national pride couldn't be more important as now, what a wonderful day to display pride in our flag: A warm (if not downright hot) summer's day to celebrate the freedoms that we as US citizens enjoy. This day should also signal the time to stop and hear the battle cry for fighting in unity; to engage and solve the problems that we as a country now face.

With two wars, financial and job-front problems, the BP disaster in the gulf, the oil spill in Utah, the storms and flash floods that have killed so many this past weekend, the desperate need for national pride has never been so essential to get these and other emergencies taken care of.

We can do it. We've done it before. Through meticulous preparation and using American ingenuity and perseverance, Old Glory will lead the way as we will continue our legacy of problem solving, innovation, prosperity and good will.