Sweet Land of Liberty
THE AMERICAN FLAG
I was born on July 4th, 1776, and The Declaration of Independence is my Birth Certificate.
The bloodlines of the world run through my veins, for I offer freedom to the oppressed.
I stand for many things and many people.
I am the Nation.
I am Nathan Hale and Paul Revere.
I stood at Lexington and fired "The Shot Heard Around the World."
I am Washington, Jefferson, Patrick Henry and Abraham Lincoln.
I am Generals Lee and Grant and Admirals John Paul Jones and Chester Nimitz.
I remember the Alamo, the Maine, Pearl Harbor, Korea, and Vietnam.
When freedom called, I answered, and stayed until it was over.
I left my heroic dead in Flanders Fields, on the rocks of Corregidor,
in the oceans of the Pacific and Atlantic, in the steaming jungles of Vietnam,
the waters of the Persian Gulf, and the sands of Desert Storm.
I was conceived in freedom, and in freedom I'll spend the rest of my days.
May I possess always the integrity, the courage and the strength to keep myself unshackled,
to remain the citadel of freedom,
and the beacon of strength to the rest of the world. This is my goal, my hope, my prayer.
A symbol of liberty and strength,
the American flag has carried its message throughout the world.
Look up!
Stand tall as I pass by!
~Author unknown.