My child at the age of six drew this flag...something she was taught to respect, honor, and appreciate at a very young age. When she was only 3 months old; she was taken to the White House in Washington D.C. to celebrate her awesome existence and possibilities in our world. By the time she started school and stood amidst her peers to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, she was hearty at holding her hand over her heart and standing straight up without fidgeting during ceremonies like morning assemblies where awesome Principals outlined all the attributable things that a child should know about respect and integrity and honoring the flag.

For hundreds of years; people from around the globe have flocked to the United States of America to escape wordly challenges and find freedom and unity in the USA. The United States of America flag is a symbol many things that men and women have fought for throughout the ages of time...

Today, everyone wants to be a part of something. Everywhere you go; we have division amongst the citizens of our great nation with flags to represent everything under the sun. While those flags and what they symbolize should be respected as diversity; I believe that they have become a way of dividing the American people.

My respect for the American flag reminds me of all the men and women who have served and died defending democracy around the globe on behalf of the citizens of our great nation and around the globe. The Flag of the United States of America is RED, WHITE, AND BLUE and I believe that it should be the ultimate symbol of our united front to fight all enemies; foreign and domestic. Under that flag; we should always remain UNITED and UNIFIED without question to any other color under the sun.

I served our great nation in the United States Army for many years. The first day I arrived at boot camp, a drill sergeant outlined some racial sensitivity to our equitably divided racial populace...."YOU ARE NO LONGER BLACK, WHITE, OR YELLOW; TODAY YOU ARE "GREEN"...." and he taught us all to work together in life and death situations and to be "Battle Buddies" without consideration for all the bologna in the middle.  Yes, we learned to love that drill sergeant and I remember him meeting my father at graduation and learning of my father's military record....where he smiled deeply with enormous respect and said, "That answers everything!"....Smiles...

You see, we are taught to respect the uniform (then the color Green)....and all the rest is moot. Servicemembers are volunteers who sign a contract with the United States Government to put their lives on the line. We recite an oath that remains with us throughout life even when we leave the military. These things all mean something deep and to the core of the people who have united as servicemembers to undergo almost identical basic  training. We all remain forever fraternal in life and death as 'servicemembers.'

Ultimately, our global community knows what our flag represents.... Perhaps many of our citizens have become disillusioned with many things too. I respect that. Yet, when all is said and done....our RED, WHITE, AND BLUE USA FLAG is the highest symbol of what we all are fighting to protect (Democracy)....and we should be united in that effort regardless of everything under the sun..... but that's just my opinion.... smiles.

If I could state my hugest frustration under the sun of being offended by in America; it would be any citizen that does not vote in our elections. We have many diverse flag wavers who don't get out on election days and who don't hold their politicians accountable regularly. They contribute to the downfalls of our political regime in America. Yet, I suppose that is the "all american; 80/20 rule......" 80% sit on their rumps while 20% get up and fight for their rights! 

God Bless the USA! 

(BELOW IS A BUNCH OF LINKS ABOUT THE FLAG, SYMBOLISM, and other info.)

SERVICEMEMBER'S OATH OF OFFICE: 

I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.[1] 

July 4th is a day when Americans celebrate our country by decking out our homes and ourselves in red, white, and blue. But why were these three colors chosen to represent our nations?

In 1776, with America's hard-won battle for freedom behind them, the people of our country wanted a national flag that would symbolize not only their independence, but their spirit of unity. The Continental Congress responded by passing the first "Flag Act" which established the first official flag for our nation.

It stated: "Resolved that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes alternate

Our founding fathers recognized the ability of color to communicate meaning, but whether Americans today know the specific significance of the flag colors is not as important as the power of these colors to evoke our patriotic spirit and unify us as a country

From the book "Our Flag" published in 1989 by the House of Representatives...

"On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution authorizing a committee to devise a seal for the United States of America. This mission, designed to reflect the Founding Fathers' beliefs, values, and sovereignty of the new Nation, did not become a reality until June 20, 1782. In heraldic devices, such as seals, each element has a specific meaning. Even colors have specific meanings. The colors red, white, and blue did not have meanings for The Stars and Stripes when it was adopted in 1777. However, the colors in the Great Seal did have specific meanings. Charles Thompson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, reporting to Congress on the Seal, stated:

"The colors of the pales (the vertical stripes) are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice."

Also this from a book about the flag published in 1977 by the House of Representatives...

"The star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun."