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The American Flag
It
was one of the colonial flags. The Ol' Sage was digging in one of his trunks
again and found one of the original flags that Betsy had made. You remember?
Betsy Ross....that little manual sewing machine from the Ol' days. He knew
Betsy....but not well. He remembered Betsy as the gal who wanted the stripes
on the flag....she didn't like the idea that some folks proposed.... putting
individual names on the flag....like John and George's names. And the stars...Betsy
had hoped we would have Daisies there. She really wasn't such a good seamstress
and she noted signs of Carpel-Tunnel in it's early stages in her right hand.
Even in the old days, there were times of "give and take".
She won her stand on the stripes and lost her struggle for Daisies. And
that's how we got our first flag., according to my neighbor.
The Ol' Sage smiled as he considered what the flag would
look like today if it had not been created then. The thousands of dollars
spent by committees studying the flag problem. The clamor from America's
many groups to each be represented. The lobbying by big companies for a
little free advertising on our nation's flag. What would the Christians,
Muslims, Anti-Abortionist or the Pro-gun lobbyists want? It would be a real
hair-pulling brawl before a new flag emerged and when it did, it would likely
be "logically challenged".
The Ol' Sage just laughed as we sat in the back yard watching
the Blue Spruce trees grow. We had Pepsi and Chips. It was a mildly warm
summer day. Quite comfortable in the shade. There was no rush to resolve
this potential flag problem. We had all the time we needed.
I suggested we could do away with the stars. Replacing
the stars with tiny objects representing many of the current forces in our
society....like a wheel chair, a cross, a cigarette, a Coke can, a new-born
child, a gun, a little injured animal, an abused child, a tax dollar, a
cross, a six pointed star, maybe the faces of a few famous politicians
and lots of other stuff. Wow! That reminds me of the space junk we have
already deposited around the outer atmosphere of our planet. A hodgepodge
of America. We laughed as we considered the appearance of such a flag......there
wouldn't be any room for stars!
The Ol' Sage considered the stripes. If we kept them,
we might have a stripe for the blind.....but you wouldn't be able to see
it, just feel it. A stripe for the each of the major racial groups would
be colorful! A stripe for the physically handicapped with little tiny wheels
underneath. A stripe for the major corporations full of little tiny dollar
bills. If there was room, maybe a stripe for the Americans who have given
their lives for this country. There would likely not be room for a rather
quiet stripe representing the great majority of Americans who live their
lives without alot of yelling and whining. No space for a stripe representing
those folks who came to America to find freedom and opportunity...and found
it! If we maintained the 13 stripes, there would be no way to fairly represent
America within such a meager number. We cringed, as we considered the thought
of our government taking on such a task.
It was late afternoon as we began winding down our thoughts
on the flag. It was then we decided it would be best to leave the flag as
it is. No...it may not represent the American society. But,
for sure, our government is not yet mature enough to tackle such a task.
Our society is too self-centered to work in a united way towards a goal.
There are too many folks who have lost sight of the wonderful gifts that
America offers. No, we decided. We'll just leave the flag as it is for
now.
The Ol' Sage and I rose from our backyard chairs. We
had consumed all the chips and Pepsi. It was getting late. I walked with
him to the driveway. I smiled as we considered the ridiculousness of our
discussion. It was a pleasant afternoon. Wasted? No! We had looked to
our nation's flag and found a government that struggles to solve problems.
We looked at our nation's flag and found alot of folks who are busy seeking
attention and help. And as we looked at our nations flag, we were reminded not to forget
the existence of the American dream and be grateful...even when it's governing
structure looks so inefficient and complex... even when it makes mistakes.
So, that's enough for now. Lets go home!