With July Fourth right around the corner, this might be a good time to find your American flag and make sure it is ready for display. After 9/11, many Americans rushed out to buy and display flags. It was impressive. It seemed every house on my block had a flag. Yet, this past Memorial Day, I could count the number of flags I saw on one hand. Let’s celebrate this holiday and fly our flag. As patriotic web site flagkeepers.org states, the American flag is the most-recognized symbol of freedom in the world. It waves over all Americans, regardless of religious or cultural background, and holds the promise of liberty for oppressed people the world over. It should be treated with respect.

Flag Keepers believes in handling and displaying the American flag with dignity. The group began in 1988, when a US Marine approached a few businesses about removing their unsightly and ragged American flags. He contacted several veterans’ service organizations, requesting assistance regarding the removal of worn flags. Although veterans’ organizations historically are the prime advocates for Old Glory, it was discovered that there was no organization whose main purpose was to remove dirty, ragged, or torn flags, and replace them with new ones.

The website goes on to tell us that after 15 years of ‘unofficially’ seeking the removal and replacement of tattered U.S. flags via letter-writing and personal visits, The Flag Keepers Foundation was officially born in 2003. With the recruitment of a few good volunteers, the movement is still growing. And now, with your help, we can raise the flag of hope for the respectful display and proper disposal of flags that have reached the end of their service.

The www.Flagkeepers.org website has information on how to correctly display our flag. It also has information on the proper disposal of a “tired” flag. If you like, you can even send your old American flags to the organization’s headquarters in Kannapolis, NC, and they will dispose of them for you.

So, as you hoist your flag this holiday, I encourage you to make sure you do it respectfully, and that it not be tattered, faded or torn. If it is, get a new one and send the old one to Flagkeepers. And may the Stars and Stripes continue to fly proudly over our land of the free and home of the brave.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 28th, 2008 at 1:28 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.