June 17, 2006 - Day 4 - Week 11
- Flag Day Past
Quiz time: What event happened
on June 14, 1777 that is to be acknowledged every
June 14th? If you answered ratification
of our first flag you are correct. We saw Flag Day
2006 come and go without a whole lot of fanfare,
which is typical year after year in our country.
Yet, The United States Flag is an iconic symbol of
what we all aspire to be – free healthy citizens
destined to live into a future devoid of harm and
heartache.
Our constitution guarantees
that all of us are entitled to life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. The difficulty I am having is
that this is becoming an impossibility for countless
millions in our country because of a degraded
environment and debilitating disease. It is hard to
pursue life and happiness when our bodies,
especially our children’s, are riddled with
additives that damage the immune system.
When our ancestors ratified the
constitution, only a few years after signing a
Declaration of Independence, they had no conception
of the limitations coming to impede and in some
cases destroy our quality of life. Documents
written to protect us from oppressive government
interference, either internal or external, were not
going to take into account that the air, land, and
water of the United States would jeopardize our
children’s health; but today we need to be cognizant
of this fact and act accordingly.
I love Old Glory. I have
raised her on the family flag pole on Cape Cod since
I was old enough to walk. My grandfather Gwillim
raised the flag every morning during the Second
World War, saluted her, and then went in to have his
crackers and milk, which formed the basis of his
breakfast. I experienced the ritual vicariously and
then actually, and now I am teaching our
grandchildren to raise, fold, and respect our
nation’s most enduring symbol. As many of you are
aware this early appreciation has led to my building
a collection of magazines with the flag on the
cover.
However, I do not worship the
flag; rather I worship what it represents and have
worked my entire life to ensure that equality,
justice and freedom remain the cornerstones of our
nation’s greatness. In addition, I have spoken out,
and will continue to do so, when happiness for all
can not be pursued, regardless of the reason. Now it
has become personal. I can not pursue my normal
routines, roughhouse with my grandchildren like I
wish I could, or windsurf with the same abandon;
plus a host of other activities that bring me
happiness, because of cancer. My liberty, freedom
and happiness have been compromised, and that in
part is why I want to find out why I and others get
cancer in the first place.
But, forget about me, I am
almost 64 years of age; what about the 18 year old
soccer star with lymphoma or a7 year old with
leukemia. They have many years to live under the
flag of freedom, but cancer may compromise their
entire quality of life. Can we today say that we
can guarantee them a life of liberty, freedom and
happiness? Their physical environment will have
something to say about all of that.
Flag Day every year reminds me
of my responsibility to affect change so that life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness is available to
everyone, especially those with cancer.
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Week 11 |
