Flag Day

By Kyle Ramsey

Posted: 6/14/10

While some of us may be observing other international events today, such as the World Cup or domestic events, such as the flash flooding in Oklahoma, oil spill in the Gulf, or the pipeline breakage in Utah, we may find it easy to forget the simple things in life. For example, today, June 14, is Flag Day. Flag Day is the national day of recognition and appreciation for the flag of the United States of America. The white stars on the field of blue is an essential symbol of our freedom, a bastion of hope for Americans, such as poet Francis Scott Key, the man who penned the the Star-Spangled Banner in 1814. The song was a tribute to our flag and all that it stood for - a sentiment somewhat overlooked . Today is the day we give special notice to the small things in life that hold much larger meaning.

To remind you of the patriotism some people hold, I present to you Theodore Roosevelt. One June 14, Theodore Roosevelt was dining outside Philadelphia, when he noticed a man wiping his nose with what he thought was the American Flag. In outrage, Roosevelt picked up a small wooden rod and began to whip the man for "defacing the symbol of America." After about five or six strong whacks, he noticed that the man was not wiping his nose with a flag, but with a blue handkerchief with white stars. Upon realization of this, he apologized to the man, but hit him once more for making him "riled up with national pride."