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To the Editor and the General Public

This June 14 marks 248 years of having an established design and banner for the Flag of the United States. There is so much that has happened in our country since then, and yet the flag has remained with the same general appearance through it all. The same red, white, blue, and star-spangled design that we salute and recognize today was a familiar sight for even the earliest citizens of our new country beginning in 1777.

And yet, as we come to this point each year it seems that the early days of summer are particularly trying for our country. As we assess the current state of affairs in our nation we see dissention, civil unrest, and the weaponization of political ideas against our fellow countrymen. Trust in the government, and our other institutions of power, are at their lowest, while citizen apathy has climbed to new heights.

And while these are trying times for our nation, the flag continues to be perched above buildings, posted in classrooms, and proudly flown from front porches all across the land. I won’t dismiss the current state of affairs in this country, however, I would encourage all citizens to fly their flag not as a celebration of the present but as a challenge for the future. Flying the flag is demonstrates a resolve to uphold the principles of self-government, shows a deep reverence for the rights that we enjoy as citizens, and makes a promise to stay engaged and to invest the required effort to make our country a suitable inheritance for the generations that follow us.

Since 1777, much has happened to shape the history of this country- and the sun has set on the Stars and Stripes each night- and illuminates that same banner each morning. Let this Flag Day be our annual reminder that the work of “securing liberty for ourselves and our posterity” does not stop. Keep flying the Flag and keep working to secure a better state of affairs for next Flag Day… and the next generation of Americans.

Happy Flag Day! Long may she wave.

Nick McGrath

Austin, MN