On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed a simple resolution, reading, “Resolved, that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and while; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” These simple words created a flag which has changed through the years to the fifty star, thirteen stripe flag we have today. Since my childhood, I have been a lover of flags and an amateur vexillologist.
In Season 5, Episode 19 of the TV Show Madam Secretary, the title character, Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord is being interviewed. She quotes Alexis De Tocqueville, who called the United States, “The Great Experiment”, noting that it reminds her of how fragile the experiment of our democracy is.
Our times are showing us how tenuous the experiment is. Our nation is at a crossroads and I hope we, as a nation continue to embody the ideas that i feel are embodied in the Declaration of Independence,
- Governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
- All people are created equal.
- All people are endowed with certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
These principles are hard to embody when you think of some of your fellow Americans as “Other”.
“America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You’ve gotta want it bad, ’cause it’s gonna put up a fight.” – President Andrew Shepard in the movie The American President. Right now it’s putting up a fight. We need to work together to prevent this house, our nation, from becoming divided and not being able to stand.
Using words I’ve written before, “In 1787, the United States Constitution was ratified and came into effect. The preamble of this document talks about forming a more perfect union. To me, this means a country that is improving, learning from its mistakes and continually growing. It means that the process of building our nation is consistently unfinished and that it is all of our jobs to better our country through hard work, understanding our fellow humans, and coming together. History has shown that our nation can do some great things when its people come together. Let’s all continue working towards our more perfect union.
Today, three versions of our nation’s flag are flying. The first is the flag described in that 1777 resolution. It has 13 stripes and those thirteen stars representing the new constellation. This flag belonged to John Alvis, who inspired my love of flags and gave me my flag pole.
The second is the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem during the war of 1812. This flag has fifteen stripes and fifteen stars.
The final version is the current flag of the United States. Fifty stars, each representing a state in our union. Thirteen stripes representing the thirteen colonies that became the thirteen original states.
Some of this text was adapted from my June 14, 2021 flag day post.
Cruesbreck Flags 