Ross A. Frazier, 32°

The American flag tells its story from its birth to the present day.

A collection of American flags dating from 1776 to 1992 is displayed in the Americanism Museum of the House of the Temple in Washington, D.C.

I was there. Oh yes, I have been there from the beginning. You couldn’t see me then, but I was there. In the early days I was with those great and noble men like Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Adams, and so many others. And I remember the shot heard around the world because I was with them when it was fired. But, as I said, you couldn’t really see me because in truth I represent a spirit, an ideal, and a belief.

I looked different at first, but in 1777 the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act giving me official status. Some of you probably think Betsy Ross, that kindly old Philadelphia seamstress, created me; however, some of you give that credit to Mr. Francis Hopkinson. He was a Congressman from New Jersey and had signed the Declaration of Independence. None of you know for sure who designed me, how the colors were selected or what they represented. Of course, I know the answer. It was ... well, I’d probably better not say. I had 13 stars on a blue field with 13 alternating red and white stripes. Both were to represent the colonies that became the 13 original states. The idea was to add a stripe and star for each new state. I don’t think they had any idea how big this nation would become. By the time there were 15 states, adding more stripes became unworkable, so I went back to 13 and just added another star for each new state. Throughout the years I’ve changed as more states were added, but what I really am has never changed. Far more than just an assembly of colored cloth, I am truly the spirit of a free people, the spirit of America.

I have been with the countless men and women who fought to preserve me, giving them strength and courage. With tears, I have wrapped myself as a shroud around those who fell in battle for my sake, and I comfort those left behind that the fallen did not die in vain. Those who truly understand know that I must always be safeguarded and defended. And it makes me sad to see so many who just don’t seem to understand.

I should be respected. Indeed, you owe me respect! Stand when I come in the room, and if I pass by in a parade, carried by those who honor me, remove your hat and hold your hand over your heart. Display me properly and with pride. Have you forgotten the Pledge of Allegiance you learned? I certainly hope not, because it is an affirmation of everything I stand for. Oh, I seethe with anger when I have been thrown on the ground, trampled underfoot, burned ... and worse. How ironic that the liberties I represent allowed them to desecrate me so.

And how can it be that some would now strike out the words “under God” from our Pledge of Allegiance? Time and again those great men who founded our country declared their belief in God and expressed it in nearly everything they did and wrote. In spite of differences, that belief was like a binding force that gave them the will to create your nation. Although those words weren’t there originally, they were added in 1954 because people recognized that the belief in God is an essential part of their heritage, the foundation of their country, and a landmark of everything I stand for. And now they want to take those words out? The very notion makes me cringe with disbelief. Are they misguided or just ignorant of the fact that the belief in God was what gave rise to this great nation?

Mark well what I tell you. Be ever vigilant for I must always be protected. And if, piece by piece, the foundations of liberty are chipped away by those who do not cherish me, then even the spirit I represent will be weakened. Soon I will become no more than colorful cloth whose meaning is but a distant memory to some, and then I will no longer be the American Flag.