On Flag Day, celebrate what unites us

We are the United States, but a divided people. Not today. Today we unite under one flag.

At a time when the nation has never been more divided, we need unity. We need equality. We need the flag.

Today is the day we celebrate Old Glory.

Flag Day has its roots in our region, Delaware County to be specific. William Kerr, of Yeadon, is widely credited for pushing for a national day to honor the Stars ’n’ Stripes. He saw his lifetime dream become reality in 1959.

Now if only we could achieve the unity – the more perfect union – we espouse as we salute the flag.

We’re not going to hold our breath.

The truth is the nation has never been more divided. Partisan politics has never been more acidic.

A backlash against that kind of mindless partisan gridlock resulted in something almost no one could have predicted.

Much of the nation, convinced that they were left adrift in the middle of the country by powerful elites on both coasts, decided to strike back, to make their voices heard. The result? The nation elected a complete outsider, someone removed from traditional politics, to the highest office in the land.

On this Flag Day, Donald J. Trump sits in the White House, the 45th president of these United States, so gloriously represented by that piece of cloth envisioned by Betsy Ross, white stars on a blue field, along with red and white stripes.

Much of the country, while saluting the flag, believed their leaders were offering them something else, something that might include a single finger.

They believed our leaders not only no longer listened to them, but didn’t even recognize them.

So they decided to take their nation back, to send a man to Washington who would “drain the swamp.”

Sadly, what is clear is that the United States has never been more divided.

We need unity. We need equality. We need all voices to be heard. We need our flag. We need to once again embrace the resolve that was so evident on June 14, 1777.

That’s the day the Stars and Stripes was officially designated as the flag of the United States.

It is believed to have been designed by a congressman from New Jersey by the name of Francis Hopkinson.

Of course, its fame – and legend – was literally embroidered by a seamstress in Philadelphia. Maybe you’ve heard of her. Her name was Betsy Ross.

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress, also sitting in Ross’ home town, issued the following resolution: “Resolved, that the flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

In the 240 years since, more stars have been added to the blue field. The last revision occurred July 4, 1960, when the 50th star representing Hawaii was added to that blue expanse.

It has survived myriad wars in every corner of the globe, and one fateful battle that pitted states – and at times brothers – against one another.

Whether storming the beaches at Normandy, the hills of Korea, the jungles of Vietnam or the sands of Iraq, it has remained a symbol of this great experiment we call democracy.

Today, as we celebrate the day that was proclaimed in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson, but was not signed into law until 1949, designated as National Flag Day by Congress and so ordained by President Harry Truman, let us stop to honor Old Glory – and the notion of ‘unity’ that underscores it.

We are many people, of all backgrounds, ethnicities, religious beliefs, and, of course, political persuasions.

But we all stand under one flag.

Now more than ever, let’s use this day to remember what it is we celebrate when we unfurl Old Glory.

It is a symbol of everything we are – gloriously different, but united in spirit. Still. Happy Flag Day!