Flag Day 2010

With all the ObamaPelosiReiddisasters taking center stage across the nation, I’d like to take this time to remind folks; Today is flag day!

The United States Flag first flew in a Flag Day celebration during the first summer of the Civil war, when it was flown at Hartford, Connecticut on June 14, 1861.  A few years later on June 14, 1877 the flag celebrated it’s 100th birthday.  At that time the U.S. Government requested that the flag be flown from all public buildings to celebrate its first century.   From that point on, Flag Day celebrations became a popular but not yet official, celebrations.

Most early (1885 – 1900) Flag Day celebrations were independent activities, often as a part of school educational programs.  A school district in Fredonia, Wisconsin began as early as 1885 to celebrate “Flag Birthday”, followed by schools in New York a few years later.  The Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia conducted a Flag Day celebration in 1891.  By 1893 the children of Philadelphia were gathering at Independence Square to celebrate the birth of the flag.   (To this day the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the only state where Flag Day is a legal holiday, though it is observed in all 50 states  as a day of honoring our Flag.)

The following year (1894) 300,000 school children participated in Flag Day celebrations promoted by the Illinois American Flag Day Association.  The popularity of the event, promoted by Veterans’ and other patriotic organizations, quickly gained more support.  Flag Day became a true “grass-roots” movement, flourishing under the patriotic efforts of educators and school children.  Finally, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a Presidential proclamation making June 14th a day of honoring our flag and celebrating its birth.

It seemed that United States citizens enjoyed displaying their flags and celebrating its birth each year, but there was little consistency as there were no federal or state regulations to provide guidelines regarding display of the flag.  Thus on Flag Day, 1923 the National Flag Code was adopted by the National Flag Conference.  A similar conference the following year made some slight changes, and these guidelines became the basis for a joint resolution of Congress on June 22, 1942 (and amended December 22, 1942) to become Public Law 829; Chapter 806, 77th Congress, 2nd session.  This series of activities provided all citizens with some basic principles to follow in display of the Flag.  You can find these guidelines in Title 36 of the United States Code.

Not until 1949 did the United States Congress take formal action on the matter of Flag Day.  On August 3, 1949 President Harry S Truman signed their resolution “That the 14th day of June in each year is hereby designated as Flag Day.”  Today it is the right of every American to proudly display the flag that speaks of our freedom.  But with every RIGHT comes some RESPONSIBILITY as well…including the responsibility to display the flag properly and with respect.  

I’m sure this will in no way affect our dear leader, he’s got a pass because he’s not AMERICAN. It’s obvious aint it?

See anything wrong here?…

Enjoy flag day anyway.