No One Asked Me But… (April 27, 2022)

By DR. LARRY MOSES

No one asked me but… This week I got a call from an old friend I had not heard from for a number of years. She indicated that she was having a campout with some youngsters and, in the process, they had some American flags that needed to be retired for they were worn and ragged. She was hoping I could find some members of the American Legion to carry out the required ceremony of respect and it could be observed by her collection of youngsters.

This got me to thinking about the respect that we should show to our flag as it represents our nation. With the current times where crisis seems to beget more crisis, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that our commitment to America is worth the effort.

Keeping in mind our first commitment is to God, our second is to our family and third is to our country as symbolized by its flag; I would like to talk to you about the commitment I feel toward my country. In my life have made only two oaths in the name of God. One is to remain loyal to my wife in a marriage ceremony the other to my country. This is the oath I took in 1960 as I entered the United States Marine Corps:

“I, Larry Ronald Moses, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

When a Christian takes an oath before God it is an everlasting oath which one must take seriously for the remainder of his/her life. With that caveat in mind let me speak to the reverence I feel all Americans should have to the country as symbolized by the flag.

Why do I stand when the flag goes by? As a youth I was taught to do so by my parents. Other adults would correct us if we acted up during a flag ceremony. Unfortunately, most adults no longer do that.

The American flag is a symbol of the greatest nation on earth. Too many good men have died to ensure us the right to stand with head unbowed for us not to respect the flag. But in the flag, there is more than the symbolism of a nation, there is philosophy of life.

The only symbol on our flag is the star. There is no royal crest. The colors are unique and each suggest a special thought.

The Stars suggest numerous things to me – hope, opportunity, potential and dreams. The star reminds me to reach beyond the everyday occurrences and hope with optimism the future will be better. It suggest setting goals a little beyond your reach so you can continue to grow. The only limit to the realization of tomorrow’s dreams are our doubts of today.

This nation was made great by those who reached for the stars. Today’s dreams are tomorrows successes. Each time I see the stars on the American flag, I think of the opportunities this great land affords me. In America we are able to choose to be successful or to be unsuccessful, no one will choose it for us. In America, you can become what you wish to become. No doubt it is easier for some than others. But nobody said it would be easy.

This nation will remain great only as long as it remains virtuous and the white stripes on our flag should remind us it will remain unstained only as its people value virtuous activities.

The blue field reminds of loyalty and dedication. The term true blue means one is dedicated to an issue. When I see the blue on the flag it reminds me that each day I should dedicate myself to God, family, and the nation as well as the job I have to do each day.

The red stripes are a symbol of the blood shed to maintain the freedom that we enjoy today. Every challenge, home and abroad, from the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm, has been met and won at the cost of patriot blood. Many of us have lost a relative who shed their blood willingly for his/her country.
One must be true to his God, family, honor, and nation. When we stray from these principles we get into trouble. Have you noticed that when you do something questionable there is a voice in your head that lets you know? When the voice speaks, we need to listen. If we don’t listen, it will eventually stop speaking. When this happens, we will lose our sense of right and wrong.

The American flag is a symbol of the greatest nation on Earth. Too many good men have died to ensure us the right to stand with head unbowed for us not to respect the flag. Ben Franklin in Paris, a Broadway play ends with Franklin trying to imagine Americans 200 years down the road as he thinks:
“I wonder how I’d find them then -those Americans to who the name America will not be new,” he says.

“Will they love liberty, being given it outright in the crib for nothing? Will they know that if you are not free, you are sir, lost without hope. And will they who reaped the harvest of ideas be willing to strive to preserve what we so willing strove to plant? That all men are created equal! And are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. And would they die for it? That is the question one finally has to ask oneself. Would I die for it? And the answer one has to say is, ‘Yes, sir, I would!’”

When I see the American flag I don’t just see a piece of cloth, I see an outline to a pattern of life and I see the history of a nation dedicated to the freedom of all mankind. I can truly say I am proud to be an American.

Thought of the week… “I believe our flag is more than just cloth and ink. It is a universally recognized symbol that stands for liberty, and freedom. It is the history of our nation, and it’s marked by the blood of those who died defending it.”
– John Thune