You’re a Grand Old Flag – Bonita Springs Florida Weekly

 

July 4th is here and it’s time to be patriotic, if only for a day. It’s time to celebrate being an American, proud of our country with all of its faults.

Independence Day marks the beginning – the day in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress. It marks the beginning of freedom with all of its benefits and responsibilities, the beginning of a grand journey.

And it’s a day with important symbols, things like the Pledge of Allegiance, the American flag and the National Anthem.

Last week, I attended a meeting that started, as always, with the Pledge of Allegiance: “… to the flag … and to the republic for which it stands…” We tend to just mouth the words; it’s almost a reflex. Something at the beginning of meetings to get out of the way.

The symbol of the flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, is more substantive. It’s celebrated with statues (the flag planting on Iwo Jima) and paintings (Betsy Ross sewing the flag). Although the history is uncertain, we know that a flag design similar to the one used today was approved by the Continental Congress in 1777.

TRECKER

Today the flag is ubiquitous. It flies on homes, in yards, and on public and private buildings. And it’s apolitical. Both parties embrace it. Jasper Johns made a living painting different versions of it. Today the flag finds its way onto coins, stamps, tee shirts, even tattoos.

Then there’s the National Anthem. It, too, is everywhere. It’s sung before convention openings and sporting events, and it’s played whenever athletes win gold medals. I always expect to see a flyover right after “ … and the land of the free, and the home of the brave.” Unlike the flag, the anthem leaves room for interpretation. My wife always cringes when a vocalist jazzes it up.

The pledge, the flag, the anthem. They’re symbols and they’re important. But there’s more to patriotism than that.

Do woke masses on the left care less about their country than traditionalists on the right? I doubt it. Is the soccer team that disses the National Anthem less patriotic than we old-timers who revere the music? Not really. They just have a different vision of the country. Are the political lefties who want bigger government and more spending less patriotic than those on the right who want smaller government and less debt? Not at all. They just see patriotism in a different way. They pay their taxes and supply soldiers to fight just like the rest of us.

As the economists say, patriotism is fungible.

If you want the old-fashioned version, you should hearken back to the early 1900s when music made Americans proud of their heritage. George M. Cohan, the first “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” was an early practitioner. Few remember the names of his wonderful Broadway shows, but many over a certain age remember his music: “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “Over There,” “Harrigan,” “Forty-five Minutes from Broadway” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”

Memories fade. I don’t remember what I had for breakfast today, but I’ll never forget the first time I heard the Cohan lyrics.

“You’re a grand old flag,
“You’re a high-flying flag
“And forever in peace may you wave.

“You’re the emblem of
“The land I love,
“The home of the free and the brave.

“Ev’ry heart beats true
“’neath the red, white and blue,
“Where there’s never a boast or brag.

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
“Keep your eye on the Grand Old Flag.”

Happy Fourth of July!

Dave Trecker is a chemist and retired Pfizer executive living in Florida.