The Rebel Black Dot Song of Flag Day

John Philip Sousa, "The Stars and Stripes Forever" via iTunes (The Last Angry Man)

Commentary: Lately, it seems we have a hard time remembering that we're all Americans, that our political opponents & sports rivals are not our enemies. I disagree with much that it happening in this country, with much that many are trying to change about this country, but this remains my country, remains—in the words of our national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner"—"the land of the free & the home of the brave." Here the words of the Pledge of Allegiance are useful:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, & to the republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty & justice for all.

The flag is the symbol of us all, of our liberty & union, which cannot exist apart from one another. We cannot sustain & defend our liberty against the still-active forces of tyranny as individuals, we need to band together as a union; we cannot sustain & defend our union for any reason other than to secure our liberty as individuals, tolerating neither the tyranny of the majority nor the tyranny of the minority. In the words of the great Daniel Webster, senator from Massachusetts:

Liberty & union, now & forever, one & inseparable.

We can bicker & we can argue about the future direction of this country, about the shape of things to come, only because of our liberty & union. We dare not forget how rare, precious, & fragile a gift is the Americans' freedom of speech, how constantly it is under dire assault, from "enemies"—in the words of the Oath of Allegiance sworn by all naturalized American citizens—both "foreign & domestic." This Flag Day, salute the symbol of our great republic—cherish that liberty & defend that union for which it stands. God bless America.