You can see photos of FirstFlaggers in the slideshow on the right, or on our flickr page.
Send your own pics to us at myfirstflag@gmail.com.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Some Photos of First Flaggers
Some of the photos appearing on our Facebook page. Take your own and post it there OR send it to myfirstflag@gmail.com
Friday, December 19, 2008
Sent in by Reverend Peter Kreitler,
Host of Earth Talk Today
“My First Flag” by Peter Gwillim Kreitler
The first time that I can recall being in the presence of a waving Star Spangled Banner was as a toddler on the front lawn of my grandfather’s home in Harwichport, Massachusetts. Typical of many families during the 2nd World War, I had moved with my mother to live with my maternal grandparents as my dad flew coastal submarine patrols for The Navy Air Corps along the eastern seaboard. German u-boats were the target, and though he never shot at one, his efforts were rewarded with a Navy commendation that we found when he died. This brief affirmation of his patriotism was read under the flag hoisted in his honor in 2005 at the same flagpole I had gazed upon as a three year old in 1945. That single painted pole, erected in 1938, stands to this day welcoming “Old Glory”, now hoisted by my grandchildren when visiting the family home. We have had many flags of varying sizes and materials, yet the ritual is the same and has been for generations. My first flag flew every day during the greatest generations global challenge. Ironically, now 70 years later the flag still flies from the same pole and calls to me and all who see to address the incredible economic, environmental and social challenges of this generation.
Each morning during the summer, weather permitting, we take a perfectly folded flag from its special cabinet next to the fireplace and attach it to the halyard clips and raise it to the top of the pole at oceans edge. Day after day, year after year, and now generation after generation our family admires the beauty of the stars and stripes, yet more than that we give thanks for all those who have come before who have worked to guarantee the freedoms we cherish. Our flag is a reminder of our special calling to serve and sacrifice for the good of all.
The flag we hoist with pride is neither worshipped by our family or adopted as a possession to divide, but rather respected, honored, and honorably displayed when we are in residence on Cape Cod. This cherished ritual begins every day.
In reflecting upon experience, I realize that from the earliest days of watching my grandfather raise the flag, salute and then go in and have his breakfast, to the present when I pause every time I see the flag flying, even if from the back of a motorcycle, I recognize that this enduring symbol is what calls us to greatness and what affirms the diversity in this great nation. I know my dissent under that flag is as valued as my cheering when it passes by on the 4th of July. I delight in the power that it gives individuals to express their feelings about their nation, the nation’s leadership, and the power to object consciously to positions deemed immoral or unjust. I also applaud those who realize that ‘flag waving is not patriotism’, but rather the outward affirmation of those who’s behavior has been patriotic, either on the battlefield, homefront, or in some form of service. When we wave our flag, display it from buildings or poles, we do so with an understanding that it is asking us to service.
Willard van Dyke once wrote: “I love my country for what she is and what she may become.” The stars representing the 50 states, and the stripes the original 13 colonies calls each of us to a higher good – to work for the benefit of the nation as a whole, including the non-human eco-systems that sustain life. This nation became great because of the abundance of the natural resources that could be utilized by an expanding population. The flag flies over the hills, valleys, streams, mountains, coastal wetlands, and those creatures that inhabit and derive existence from this natural oasis. The flag honors the intrinsic value of all in creation, for it is the flag of the whole of the country.
To come to this realization, to put aside our differences, and build on our unique multi-cutural, ethnic and religious population, we as a nation, like every human being, are always in the process of becoming something else. Van Dyke honored that foundational message with his provocative and evocative call to each one of us. I, Peter Kreitler, love my country, but will raise my voice of concern when I feel it has lost its moral compass, or its calling to live out the priniciples guaranteed by our constitution and covered by our flag.
May we each January 20th, along with the 4th of July, and June 14th Flag Day, fly our own flag with pride and hope that our differences never diminish what the flag represents for all Americans. No one of any national origin, particular religion, or lack thereof, status or social standing, color or creed can claim the flag as uniquely theirs. An American is as diverse as the topography that defines this nation, and we only have one flag, and one calling.
In 1898 Frances Bellamy wrote the Pledge of Allegiance. “I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” Modified and adapted later, the intent of the designer was to encourage persons of all stripes to see the actual stripes as representing the diversity in this nation. The multi-stripes and the panoply of a heaven full of stars in the canton represent how the unity under the flag comes through diversity having a higher allegiance – an allegiance to the common good of the United States of America.
Thus, when I, as I have for my entire life of 66 years, see our nation’s most inclusive symbol raised high I know I am being called to the high ideal of making our nation better for future generations. The flag calls out to everyone, and today may this symbol bring us all into the process of becoming more than we are today – more inclusive, more accepting, more unified in purpose, more humble, more reflective on those principles that have made our nation great – sacrifice, thrift, honor, justice.
My first flag from the 1940’s was shredded over time by the prevailing southwest winds of Nantucket Sound, but the meaning and the message will never be rent asunder if each one of us find our way to make this nation become what she has been called to be.
May your first flag be flown with pride.
The first time that I can recall being in the presence of a waving Star Spangled Banner was as a toddler on the front lawn of my grandfather’s home in Harwichport, Massachusetts. Typical of many families during the 2nd World War, I had moved with my mother to live with my maternal grandparents as my dad flew coastal submarine patrols for The Navy Air Corps along the eastern seaboard. German u-boats were the target, and though he never shot at one, his efforts were rewarded with a Navy commendation that we found when he died. This brief affirmation of his patriotism was read under the flag hoisted in his honor in 2005 at the same flagpole I had gazed upon as a three year old in 1945. That single painted pole, erected in 1938, stands to this day welcoming “Old Glory”, now hoisted by my grandchildren when visiting the family home. We have had many flags of varying sizes and materials, yet the ritual is the same and has been for generations. My first flag flew every day during the greatest generations global challenge. Ironically, now 70 years later the flag still flies from the same pole and calls to me and all who see to address the incredible economic, environmental and social challenges of this generation.
Each morning during the summer, weather permitting, we take a perfectly folded flag from its special cabinet next to the fireplace and attach it to the halyard clips and raise it to the top of the pole at oceans edge. Day after day, year after year, and now generation after generation our family admires the beauty of the stars and stripes, yet more than that we give thanks for all those who have come before who have worked to guarantee the freedoms we cherish. Our flag is a reminder of our special calling to serve and sacrifice for the good of all.
The flag we hoist with pride is neither worshipped by our family or adopted as a possession to divide, but rather respected, honored, and honorably displayed when we are in residence on Cape Cod. This cherished ritual begins every day.
In reflecting upon experience, I realize that from the earliest days of watching my grandfather raise the flag, salute and then go in and have his breakfast, to the present when I pause every time I see the flag flying, even if from the back of a motorcycle, I recognize that this enduring symbol is what calls us to greatness and what affirms the diversity in this great nation. I know my dissent under that flag is as valued as my cheering when it passes by on the 4th of July. I delight in the power that it gives individuals to express their feelings about their nation, the nation’s leadership, and the power to object consciously to positions deemed immoral or unjust. I also applaud those who realize that ‘flag waving is not patriotism’, but rather the outward affirmation of those who’s behavior has been patriotic, either on the battlefield, homefront, or in some form of service. When we wave our flag, display it from buildings or poles, we do so with an understanding that it is asking us to service.
Willard van Dyke once wrote: “I love my country for what she is and what she may become.” The stars representing the 50 states, and the stripes the original 13 colonies calls each of us to a higher good – to work for the benefit of the nation as a whole, including the non-human eco-systems that sustain life. This nation became great because of the abundance of the natural resources that could be utilized by an expanding population. The flag flies over the hills, valleys, streams, mountains, coastal wetlands, and those creatures that inhabit and derive existence from this natural oasis. The flag honors the intrinsic value of all in creation, for it is the flag of the whole of the country.
To come to this realization, to put aside our differences, and build on our unique multi-cutural, ethnic and religious population, we as a nation, like every human being, are always in the process of becoming something else. Van Dyke honored that foundational message with his provocative and evocative call to each one of us. I, Peter Kreitler, love my country, but will raise my voice of concern when I feel it has lost its moral compass, or its calling to live out the priniciples guaranteed by our constitution and covered by our flag.
May we each January 20th, along with the 4th of July, and June 14th Flag Day, fly our own flag with pride and hope that our differences never diminish what the flag represents for all Americans. No one of any national origin, particular religion, or lack thereof, status or social standing, color or creed can claim the flag as uniquely theirs. An American is as diverse as the topography that defines this nation, and we only have one flag, and one calling.
In 1898 Frances Bellamy wrote the Pledge of Allegiance. “I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” Modified and adapted later, the intent of the designer was to encourage persons of all stripes to see the actual stripes as representing the diversity in this nation. The multi-stripes and the panoply of a heaven full of stars in the canton represent how the unity under the flag comes through diversity having a higher allegiance – an allegiance to the common good of the United States of America.
Thus, when I, as I have for my entire life of 66 years, see our nation’s most inclusive symbol raised high I know I am being called to the high ideal of making our nation better for future generations. The flag calls out to everyone, and today may this symbol bring us all into the process of becoming more than we are today – more inclusive, more accepting, more unified in purpose, more humble, more reflective on those principles that have made our nation great – sacrifice, thrift, honor, justice.
My first flag from the 1940’s was shredded over time by the prevailing southwest winds of Nantucket Sound, but the meaning and the message will never be rent asunder if each one of us find our way to make this nation become what she has been called to be.
May your first flag be flown with pride.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
A Letter from a Friend
One of our friends wrote the following in response to another friend's doubts about the project:
Sam,
As a Republican who voted for Obama I've got to say a few things to
clear up misconceptions about the flag and to let you know that you
are close to arriving at the correct flag waving position.
Where I live in Kentucky I do not fly a flag outside, however most
all my neighbors do. I keep putting off buying a flagpole at Lowe's for the
front of my house because I live on the end of a dead end road where
I'd essentially be flying it for a UPS pilot I don't speak to, an
FBI agent, the mail lady, and a school bus driver. And my foreign-
born wife who thinks flying a flag is tasteless along the lines of,
"What are we, a military fort? Are you crazy, playing at forts?"
But, if you fly the flag now, you will not be a hypocrite, and you
don't have to take it down if Jeb Bush or Mike Huckabee gets
elected in 2012...the concept of flying it to represent being proud
of this very historic moment is completely valid and you should
reconsider.
The main impact of a first time flag effort, if it took hold, would
be to compel those people who think they "own" the flag to think
again. I have a neighbor down the road who flies 4 flags, one from
each corner of his log cabin. American flag, State of Kentucky,
Don't Tread on Me, and depending upon how wild and crazy he feels,
the flag of the militia group patrolling the Mexico Arizona border.
He still has his McCain Palin yard sign up. I want That Guy and
"Those Kinds of People" to take stock in a flag waving effort that
is not subsumed by mindless "USA USA USA" patriotism. The flag
should not be left as a reflexive defensive tribal symbol. I'd like
there to be a story out there of people flying their flags for the
first time because to leave this important symbol to "flag wavers"
- as has somehow occurred between the election of Nixon and now - is
to allow an important symbol to become weakened and coopted - that
feeling you get when you see some fat midwestern guy wearing a flag
shirt or a flag cape and a beer can hat, screaming for
a football team. As if the flag really were only a simple tribal
cloth no more symbolic or worthy of attention or honor than a
Tottenham Hotspurs or Chelsea FC soccer scarf.
The flag means something supra-national.
There is a nation, there are people in it, and then there are the
symbols that take all of that into account and go beyond it and
above it and point to the unkillable ideals of the world's oldest
democracy. Unkillable ideals like the necessity for change, the
possibility of revolutionary (as in Revolutionary War) change. Like
that feeling you get visiting the Lincoln Memorial at dawn. Like
seeing an American flag some guy has ad hoc duct-taped to a radio
antenna flying from the back of an American tank as NATO takes over
Kosovo. It would be, and really is, a tragedy to "leave the flag" to
the tribal-only patrio-idiotists.
So, finally, the flag represents ghosts of the fallen, all the
hallowed grounds, clarity in eternal themes, and Statue of Liberty-
type inscriptions - stripped of the layers upon layers of
intermediated irony. And stripped also of the accumulated hubris
that many attribute to flag wavers and flyers now.
So I'm going to fly my flag on Jan. 20 not as my first flag but
because I salute the passage of time, the increase in American
potential, breathtaking political events, the hope that major
progress on long languishing logjams can be made by new smart
pragmatists and because people I thought would never fly flags are
thinking of flying flags: because this nation is a place above all
of boundless possibility guided, sea to shiing sea, by ideals and
idealists.
Tribalists may think the flag stands for place, and for things
standing still. I think the flag stands for ever-seeking-ness. I'll
spring that one on my neighbors and the mail lady and see what
happens - if they ask me.
Sam, fly your flag. May I suggest flying a 48 star flag or even a
replica of the Francis Scott Key Star Spangled banner if you are
uncomfortable with a Home Depot or Costco supposedly made-in-USA
model that would just be a me-too compared to your neighbor's
(bigger? taller?) flag.
-John
Sam,
As a Republican who voted for Obama I've got to say a few things to
clear up misconceptions about the flag and to let you know that you
are close to arriving at the correct flag waving position.
Where I live in Kentucky I do not fly a flag outside, however most
all my neighbors do. I keep putting off buying a flagpole at Lowe's for the
front of my house because I live on the end of a dead end road where
I'd essentially be flying it for a UPS pilot I don't speak to, an
FBI agent, the mail lady, and a school bus driver. And my foreign-
born wife who thinks flying a flag is tasteless along the lines of,
"What are we, a military fort? Are you crazy, playing at forts?"
But, if you fly the flag now, you will not be a hypocrite, and you
don't have to take it down if Jeb Bush or Mike Huckabee gets
elected in 2012...the concept of flying it to represent being proud
of this very historic moment is completely valid and you should
reconsider.
The main impact of a first time flag effort, if it took hold, would
be to compel those people who think they "own" the flag to think
again. I have a neighbor down the road who flies 4 flags, one from
each corner of his log cabin. American flag, State of Kentucky,
Don't Tread on Me, and depending upon how wild and crazy he feels,
the flag of the militia group patrolling the Mexico Arizona border.
He still has his McCain Palin yard sign up. I want That Guy and
"Those Kinds of People" to take stock in a flag waving effort that
is not subsumed by mindless "USA USA USA" patriotism. The flag
should not be left as a reflexive defensive tribal symbol. I'd like
there to be a story out there of people flying their flags for the
first time because to leave this important symbol to "flag wavers"
- as has somehow occurred between the election of Nixon and now - is
to allow an important symbol to become weakened and coopted - that
feeling you get when you see some fat midwestern guy wearing a flag
shirt or a flag cape and a beer can hat, screaming for
a football team. As if the flag really were only a simple tribal
cloth no more symbolic or worthy of attention or honor than a
Tottenham Hotspurs or Chelsea FC soccer scarf.
The flag means something supra-national.
There is a nation, there are people in it, and then there are the
symbols that take all of that into account and go beyond it and
above it and point to the unkillable ideals of the world's oldest
democracy. Unkillable ideals like the necessity for change, the
possibility of revolutionary (as in Revolutionary War) change. Like
that feeling you get visiting the Lincoln Memorial at dawn. Like
seeing an American flag some guy has ad hoc duct-taped to a radio
antenna flying from the back of an American tank as NATO takes over
Kosovo. It would be, and really is, a tragedy to "leave the flag" to
the tribal-only patrio-idiotists.
So, finally, the flag represents ghosts of the fallen, all the
hallowed grounds, clarity in eternal themes, and Statue of Liberty-
type inscriptions - stripped of the layers upon layers of
intermediated irony. And stripped also of the accumulated hubris
that many attribute to flag wavers and flyers now.
So I'm going to fly my flag on Jan. 20 not as my first flag but
because I salute the passage of time, the increase in American
potential, breathtaking political events, the hope that major
progress on long languishing logjams can be made by new smart
pragmatists and because people I thought would never fly flags are
thinking of flying flags: because this nation is a place above all
of boundless possibility guided, sea to shiing sea, by ideals and
idealists.
Tribalists may think the flag stands for place, and for things
standing still. I think the flag stands for ever-seeking-ness. I'll
spring that one on my neighbors and the mail lady and see what
happens - if they ask me.
Sam, fly your flag. May I suggest flying a 48 star flag or even a
replica of the Francis Scott Key Star Spangled banner if you are
uncomfortable with a Home Depot or Costco supposedly made-in-USA
model that would just be a me-too compared to your neighbor's
(bigger? taller?) flag.
-John
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Its my flag, too!
Here's what gets me: 7 years After 9/11, I live in a country that elected a black man named Barack Hussein Obama president. It still blows my mind. I don't think it could have happened anywhere else in the world. That's America, that's our dream. Yes, we elected an idiot like George Bush, but our capacity for change is breathtaking. This is an amazing country, I couldn't be more proud.
That's why I'm hanging my flag. I hate that conservatives have owned the symbol. It's my country and my flag, too.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Why We Should Hang Our First Flag
It’s time to hang out the American flag.
True, most of us have long eschewed the American flag. For years now it has not been a symbol of unity, but an unwilling pawn in a battle of partisan ideas. It’s been wielded against us, as an accusation of our unpatriotic ways, and we’ve been guilty too, assuming that anyone who flies it belongs to a certain, narrow set of beliefs that we abhor. As grubby hands from all political sides tried to grab it (or burn it) to highlight their values, most of us forsook it, in order to avoid being falsely represented. We didn’t buy flag beach towels, or the tiny flag cufflinks or any stickers for our cars. We refused those ubiquitous American flag stamps even though they came in handy rolls (taking the oversentimental Love stamps instead). Hanging a flag meant supporting wars we didn’t believe in, or a strange confluence of religion and politics that we couldn’t risk. September 11th 2001 was a tragedy that could not be assuaged by flag waving, so we eschewed it then too. For many of us, the flag came to represent something that we weren't terribly proud or it lost its power all together. In the end, we loved our country but we had no specific symbol by which to express our patriotism.
We’ve all been living it up for a few weeks now. President elect Barack Obama has been swept into office, and those of us who have always loved our country, but have often disagreed with much of what it has done in the past eight years, are ready to celebrate Inauguration Day on January 20th is a time of change and hope and possibility. We’ve indulged in smug I Told You So smiles and momentary swagger but now we know it’s time to drop our glee. Our man Obama has said that this is a new day, of unity and coalition for our country. And we believe him. We want that too. We know it’s time to look ahead to a bright future and not behind at our bickering past. We’re going to simultaneously celebrate the new course the United States of America will take and reach across the aisle, or apartment building, or railroad track, or unincorporated road, or pew. Our goal at Myfirstflag.com is to have all of us fly an American flag with pride on Inauguration Day, January 20th 2009. That means those of us who have never had a flag and those of us who have always kept one at the ready. We want to give Old Glory new meaning. Once again it will represent the basic values of freedom, solidarity, hope, and equality. (maybe cut the lines i cut...maybe not?) The American flag should return as a unifying symbol of what is best about our country, and with your help it will. Our vision at MyFirstFlag.com is simple. We’re proud to be American on January 20th, and we’re proud to say we haven’t always been proud. But on this the first day of our new president Barack Obama, we unite behind our most powerful symbol. Put up your first flag. We want millions and millions of them across the country to wave proudly from lawns and windows, snapping and flapping in unison, reverberating as our national heartbeat.
True, most of us have long eschewed the American flag. For years now it has not been a symbol of unity, but an unwilling pawn in a battle of partisan ideas. It’s been wielded against us, as an accusation of our unpatriotic ways, and we’ve been guilty too, assuming that anyone who flies it belongs to a certain, narrow set of beliefs that we abhor. As grubby hands from all political sides tried to grab it (or burn it) to highlight their values, most of us forsook it, in order to avoid being falsely represented. We didn’t buy flag beach towels, or the tiny flag cufflinks or any stickers for our cars. We refused those ubiquitous American flag stamps even though they came in handy rolls (taking the oversentimental Love stamps instead). Hanging a flag meant supporting wars we didn’t believe in, or a strange confluence of religion and politics that we couldn’t risk. September 11th 2001 was a tragedy that could not be assuaged by flag waving, so we eschewed it then too. For many of us, the flag came to represent something that we weren't terribly proud or it lost its power all together. In the end, we loved our country but we had no specific symbol by which to express our patriotism.
We’ve all been living it up for a few weeks now. President elect Barack Obama has been swept into office, and those of us who have always loved our country, but have often disagreed with much of what it has done in the past eight years, are ready to celebrate Inauguration Day on January 20th is a time of change and hope and possibility. We’ve indulged in smug I Told You So smiles and momentary swagger but now we know it’s time to drop our glee. Our man Obama has said that this is a new day, of unity and coalition for our country. And we believe him. We want that too. We know it’s time to look ahead to a bright future and not behind at our bickering past. We’re going to simultaneously celebrate the new course the United States of America will take and reach across the aisle, or apartment building, or railroad track, or unincorporated road, or pew. Our goal at Myfirstflag.com is to have all of us fly an American flag with pride on Inauguration Day, January 20th 2009. That means those of us who have never had a flag and those of us who have always kept one at the ready. We want to give Old Glory new meaning. Once again it will represent the basic values of freedom, solidarity, hope, and equality. (maybe cut the lines i cut...maybe not?) The American flag should return as a unifying symbol of what is best about our country, and with your help it will. Our vision at MyFirstFlag.com is simple. We’re proud to be American on January 20th, and we’re proud to say we haven’t always been proud. But on this the first day of our new president Barack Obama, we unite behind our most powerful symbol. Put up your first flag. We want millions and millions of them across the country to wave proudly from lawns and windows, snapping and flapping in unison, reverberating as our national heartbeat.
A longer Mission Statement
It’s time to hang out the American flag.
True, most of us have long eschewed the American flag. For years now it has not been a symbol of unity, but an unwilling pawn in a battle of partisan ideas. It’s been wielded against us, as an accusation of our unpatriotic ways, and we’ve been guilty too, assuming that anyone who flies it belongs to a certain, narrow set of beliefs that we abhor. As grubby hands from all political sides tried to grab it (or burn it) to highlight their values, most of us forsook it, in order to avoid being falsely represented. We didn’t buy flag beach towels, or the tiny flag cufflinks or any stickers for our cars. We refused those ubiquitous American flag stamps even though they came in handy rolls (taking the oversentimental Love stamps instead). Hanging a flag meant supporting wars we didn’t believe in, or a strange confluence of religion and politics that we couldn’t risk. September 11th 2001 was a tragedy that could not be assuaged by flag waving, so we eschewed it then too. For many of us, the flag came to represent something that we weren't terribly proud or it lost its power all together. In the end, we loved our country but we had no specific symbol by which to express our patriotism.
We’ve all been living it up for a few weeks now. President elect Barack Obama has been swept into office, and those of us who have always loved our country, but have often disagreed with much of what it has done in the past eight years, are ready to celebrate Inauguration Day on January 20th is a time of change and hope and possibility. We’ve indulged in smug I Told You So smiles and momentary swagger but now we know it’s time to drop our glee. Our man Obama has said that this is a new day, of unity and coalition for our country. And we believe him. We want that too. We know it’s time to look ahead to a bright future and not behind at our bickering past. We’re going to simultaneously celebrate the new course the United States of America will take and reach across the aisle, or apartment building, or railroad track, or unincorporated road, or pew. Our goal at Myfirstflag.com is to have all of us fly an American flag with pride on Inauguration Day, January 20th 2009. That means those of us who have never had a flag and those of us who have always kept one at the ready. We want to give Old Glory new meaning. Once again it will represent the basic values of freedom, solidarity, hope, and equality. (maybe cut the lines i cut...maybe not?) The American flag should return as a unifying symbol of what is best about our country, and with your help it will. Our vision at MyFirstFlag.com is simple. We’re proud to be American on January 20th, and we’re proud to say we haven’t always been proud. But on this the first day of our new president Barack Obama, we unite behind our most powerful symbol. Put up your first flag. We want millions and millions of them across the country to wave proudly from lawns and windows, snapping and flapping in unison, reverberating as our national heartbeat.
-Caroline
True, most of us have long eschewed the American flag. For years now it has not been a symbol of unity, but an unwilling pawn in a battle of partisan ideas. It’s been wielded against us, as an accusation of our unpatriotic ways, and we’ve been guilty too, assuming that anyone who flies it belongs to a certain, narrow set of beliefs that we abhor. As grubby hands from all political sides tried to grab it (or burn it) to highlight their values, most of us forsook it, in order to avoid being falsely represented. We didn’t buy flag beach towels, or the tiny flag cufflinks or any stickers for our cars. We refused those ubiquitous American flag stamps even though they came in handy rolls (taking the oversentimental Love stamps instead). Hanging a flag meant supporting wars we didn’t believe in, or a strange confluence of religion and politics that we couldn’t risk. September 11th 2001 was a tragedy that could not be assuaged by flag waving, so we eschewed it then too. For many of us, the flag came to represent something that we weren't terribly proud or it lost its power all together. In the end, we loved our country but we had no specific symbol by which to express our patriotism.
We’ve all been living it up for a few weeks now. President elect Barack Obama has been swept into office, and those of us who have always loved our country, but have often disagreed with much of what it has done in the past eight years, are ready to celebrate Inauguration Day on January 20th is a time of change and hope and possibility. We’ve indulged in smug I Told You So smiles and momentary swagger but now we know it’s time to drop our glee. Our man Obama has said that this is a new day, of unity and coalition for our country. And we believe him. We want that too. We know it’s time to look ahead to a bright future and not behind at our bickering past. We’re going to simultaneously celebrate the new course the United States of America will take and reach across the aisle, or apartment building, or railroad track, or unincorporated road, or pew. Our goal at Myfirstflag.com is to have all of us fly an American flag with pride on Inauguration Day, January 20th 2009. That means those of us who have never had a flag and those of us who have always kept one at the ready. We want to give Old Glory new meaning. Once again it will represent the basic values of freedom, solidarity, hope, and equality. (maybe cut the lines i cut...maybe not?) The American flag should return as a unifying symbol of what is best about our country, and with your help it will. Our vision at MyFirstFlag.com is simple. We’re proud to be American on January 20th, and we’re proud to say we haven’t always been proud. But on this the first day of our new president Barack Obama, we unite behind our most powerful symbol. Put up your first flag. We want millions and millions of them across the country to wave proudly from lawns and windows, snapping and flapping in unison, reverberating as our national heartbeat.
-Caroline
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