McNiven’s Meanderings: A Patriotic Salute

Well, folks, time is flying and so are the flags. it will be Independence Day this weekend and a time to celebrate the 4^th of July.  I’ve really been thinking a lot about our freedoms, our US Flag (and what it represents) and how blessed we, as a country, are to live here and be able to exercise our freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, freedom to petition our government along with many other freedoms while living in the best country in the world.  I also know that the freedom I enjoy today did not come without a cost by those who came before me.

I’ve lived out of the United States for a period of time, and I specifically remember a special time when I assembled in a large group of about 30 people who sang the US national anthem in a big echo tunnel.  We all sang it a capella so it was only our voices that echoed in the tunnel. It was sure music to my ears.  In fact, I remember getting teary eyed with listening to the harmonic tune while living outside of the United States. It gave me comfort to know from where I came.

The experience and group singing made it even more special as we sang it near the 4^th of July in the country of Panama as the citizens in Panama did not have the same kind of freedoms as we did in the United States.

Have you ever wondered what our flag represents in our national anthem?  What does each color on the flag represent? Who has carried that flag in many wars to make sure it is still standing in the end?

The colors of the flag have meaning, including the red meaning hardiness and valor, white meaning purity and innocence, and blue representing vigilance, perseverance, and justice. A flag is not just a symbol, but a way for a country to portray itself to the rest of the world.

Have you heard about how the first verse to our national anthem was produced? It reflected around our flag. The national anthem’s history began the morning of September 14, 1814, when Francis Scott Key watched U.S. soldiers, who were under bombardment from British naval forces during the War of 1812, raise a large American flag over Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland. Francis Scott Key watched the bombardment of Fort McHenry from a ship anchored in Baltimore’s harbor when he wrote its initial verse on the back side of a letter while watching the large American flag waving over the fort that morning.

Here are the words.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air
Gave proof thru the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream

‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh, long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out of their foul footsteps’ pollution
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight and the gloom of the grave,

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation,
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave

I stand when I hear the national anthem! It’s an opportunity to stop and reflect on our great country and many of the lives that were lost in trying to defend our freedoms and liberties we cherish today. It’s a time for all of us to come together, united under one flag and cause before high school sporting events and other events.

I love listening to Marie Stott sing the national anthem at Huntley Project and other sporting events that YCN Sports cover before opposing teams then go head to head.

It’s this time of year that we should reflect on our patriotism, reflect on the history of our flag and what both mean to us today.

I hope you all have a Happy 4^th of July holiday and reflect a little on how blessed we are as citizens of the United States of America.

Until then, I will stand for the national anthem and pay my respects while putting my hand over my heart.

In God we do trust!

See you in the paper!

JDM

Jonathan McNiven, owner and publisher of the Yellowstone County News, writes a regular column called McNiven’s Meanderings in the Yellowstone County News.  To learn more about Jonathan, visit his bio page here.