The Flag Will Still Be There

Due to the great instability that exists in our nation as of today, July 2020, many patriotic Americans have had to bear the pain of observing some of our national symbols being despised before the intriguing gaze of the planet. For a person like me to spill my blood for what our flag represents, having to internalize the image of our young people burning and disrupting our flag on our own soil is simply inconceivable. It is understood that desecrating our flag, if it is our way of expressing oneself, is protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution, which protects our right to free expression.

 

But to degrade such an important egregor is to assume much more profound and far-reaching consequences then many of us may suppose.

 

I remember with great pride the moment when I just moved to the urban community where I currently live in Port Saint Lucia, Florida. In the beautiful development called New Port Isles, I was called to the inauguration of a monument. This community monument consisted of a majestic flag with its flagpole and a monument dedicated to veterans.

The solemnity of the moment inspired me to share with all the people attending a point of view regarding the most sacred of our national symbols, our American flag. I find the connection between the words recited in our National Anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," and our American flag, very interesting.

 

We sing it and memorize it in school, but if we take some time to think about the events that are related in a portion of the poem written by Francis Scott Key, "The Star-Spangled Banner, we could appreciate the meaning of this flag even more.

 

History said that from a thousand yards of distance offshore, Francis Scott Key witnessed how patriots from Fort Henry received concentrated fire from the cannons of the British War Fleet. With the only intention of taking down that flag to mean, the war was over, and the carnage would end. Because Fort Henry was inhabited primarily by family members and because it was primarily not a military fort, they did not believe it would be a match for the British War Fleet.

 

They even negotiated to stop as long as they kept the flag on the floor. In Fort Henry, it was brutal. Throughout the night, Fort Henry received a devastating attack, but they prayed so hard to God to keep that flag flying where they last saw it. Sunrise came, there was a heavy mist hanging over the land, but there stood the flag completely nondescript in shreds. The flagpole itself was at a crazy angle, and the flag was still on the top. 

 

Francis Scott Key immediately went to Fort Henry to see what happened, and he found that the flagpole and the flag had suffered repeated direct hits, and it had fallen. Men… fathers, who knew what it meant for the flag to be on the ground and knowing that all the British guns were on top of them… they walked to it and held it up until they died. Their bodies would be removed, and others would take their place. Francis Scott Key said that, what was holding that flagpole in that unusual angle, were the patriot's bodies, our first armed forces and first responders.

 

From those experiences, Francis Scott Key wrote this poem:

 

"O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming;

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, 

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave."

 

We can see the same inspiration on the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima.

 

I'm talking about six United States Marines raising the American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi during the battle of Iwo Jima in World War II…

 

Like the raising of the flag at Ground Zero, where three New York City firefighters raised the American flag, following the September 11 attacks.

 

To me, this means that no matter how many times we're attacked, no matter how many wars we have to battle for our freedom, no matter how many hurricanes come to terrorize our shores… that flag will still be there, protected by our American veterans, our American Armed Forces, and our First Responders.

 

As an American wounded veteran, it was my greatest honor to have the opportunity to plant this seed of love for our nation into our younger generation.

 

As a neighbor, being a part of our community has been a great blessing. This next October counts as our sixth year as homeowners in New Port Isles. It's been great. And even to this day, I have not felt in our community the airs of rebellion, frustration, and hatred that cross our coasts. But I know it's there; I know it's a scourge with longer tentacles than we can think of. Let us instill in our children the love for our national symbols now that we have them within our reach within our home. Let's talk about our history, the good and the bad, our successes, and our mistakes as a nation. In this way, when the time comes, they will be able to distinguish between good and bad, between right and wrong—making the best decision, which is not to repeat our mistakes of the past. Thus, being able to look together towards the future, one nation, one heart, and one soul, while our flag will still be there.

                      

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Written by U.S. Army (Ret) Spc. Hugo Gonzalez