Flag Day

June 2020

 This month, as Flag Day is approaching on June 14, we asked our writers to reflect on what our nation's flag and its representation means to them.

States of being

Emmy Jansen
Class of 2023

We celebrate more than just a flag. It is the union of different peoples and states to fight one common enemy.

Today, we have a different common enemy. We can’t see it, we don’t know how to stop it, and we don’t really know how it started either. In 1776, the rebels took on an enemy they didn’t know if they could beat. They risked their lives to fight for what they believed in and the world was shocked when America was independent. They were probably more shocked when the thirteen rag-tag states became a unified country. It’s shocking that thirteen quickly became fifty and we are more diverse than ever.

America has always been known for its individuality. We stand apart from other countries in our culture, customs, and the structure of our nation. Going to school out of state, I’ve been able to see the regional differences firsthand, which is one of our unique American features. When I talk to students and professors at the Mount, sometimes it feels like they’re from a different country. Even with the globalized culture we have today, there are still things that are strikingly different. In Virginia, Old Bay isn’t sitting on restaurant tables next to the saltshakers. We aren’t raised to know the proper way to eat a crab. I’ve never worn socks, scarves, or sweatpants with my state flag on them. These are all distinctly Maryland things.

I drive too slow compared to Boston drivers. I talk too much compared to anyone above the Maxon-Dixon line. Because I grew up right outside of Richmond, I was surrounded by history and have come to realize I know more American facts than most teenagers do. I’m not used to winter lasting as long as it does in Emmitsburg. I’d never seen a lake frozen over until I traveled to Maine. A friend told me that in New England, they say "Happy Holidays" only and it was odd to hear me wishing everyone "Merry Christmas." I put barbecue sauce on my French fries, like good Southern people do. My roommate puts an extra ‘r’ in "water". Bagels aren’t that popular where I’m from. These are small differences, yes, but they reflect an important American characteristic. Our state identity defines how we view ourselves and others. It’s more than just stereotypes; we are different people in our values, cultures, and quirks. This is an aspect of the United States that has always been enjoyed. We can drive a few hours and experience something almost entirely new. We know our differences and can laugh about them, but at the end of the day we know that we’re all Americans.

State identity is more important now than ever. With each area of the country being impacted by COVID-19 differently, we are going through fifty different pandemics at the same time. My quarantine life in Richmond, Virginia is strikingly different from someone in Missouri and someone in New York. We have always been a country of multiple experiences. It can be hard to deal with the spectrum of the pandemic as we compare our situation to others. For example, I don’t have to wear a mask when I leave my house but residents in other states do. Some states are opening faster than others. It can quickly become an "us versus them" scenario.

We’d be kidding ourselves if we said it hasn’t always been that scenario. Our identities have always been different. Even on I-95, you can tell by the surroundings that you are in an entirely different state without needing a welcome sign. Our state identity is one of the most important things about us when relating to other Americans. Each state has their stereotypes, good or bad. Each region has their accent. There are fifty birds, flowers, mottos, and flags that comprise the United States of America. But there is only one that we are united behind.

In times like these, it’s easy to see our differences. Some of us are deemed essential, others are not. There’s those in the high-risk population and those with little risk at all. The group of people infected with the virus are separated from those that aren’t. We differ in our economic, social, and mental responses to this pandemic. Everyone seems to have a different opinion on how the crisis should be handled and when, but no one really knows who’s right. In the end, our differences, while striking, should not become barriers. There is not one person in this country that is unaffected by COVID-19. There was not one person who wasn’t impacted by the decision of the Founding Fathers to revolt. The flag that unites us has fifty stars and thirteen stripes. It is symbolic of who we are as a country, where we started and how far we’ve come. It would be a shame to let the work of the past two hundred years be undone by an outside enemy, one that none of us can control.

When the forgers established this nation, they didn’t know that in 2020 there would be a pandemic that froze time. What they did know was that America would be founded as a country of united states, bound by their differences to a common goal of liberty and freedom. We are still that country, although our numbers have expanded greatly. The sentiment remains the same; when there is a common enemy, you can be sure that these here united states will band together, across their borders and divides, to face the world.

As we sit locked away in our homes, we feel more apart than ever. But this isn’t the case. COVID-19 is a thread that links all of us together. This will become clearer once it’s all over and we can share stories of our quarantine. Until then, we shouldn’t look outside for reasons to stay in but looking inside for reasons not to go out. We have always been a nation of individuals, with differences and dissimilarities aplenty. This didn’t stop the country from being founded and it shouldn’t stop us now.

Read other articles by Emmy Jansen

Land of the free (if we can keep it)

Harry Scherer
Class of 2022

"I hold it to be... a detestable maxim that, politically speaking, the people have a right to do anything." So wrote Alexis de Tocqueville after his observation of American democracy in 1835. This statement is so jarring to our democratic ears that are awoken only by the energizing stimuli of a rights-based mode of political thought. What de Tocqueville was considering, I think, was the importance of the consequent responsibilities that come about when any discussion of rights is offered.

We have a very special situation in America. Our Constitution was framed under the notion that man has free will, that he can act for reasons and that he is capable of being the subject of his own actions; it was assumed that all of these capacities were given to him as a gift from the Almighty. The use of this freedom that man can activate, then, can be described as the ability and the responsibility to pursue and do the good. True freedom should not be considered to be a merely material ability to do what one is technically able to do. On the contrary, freedom constantly considers what one ought to do. Free speech, for example, should not be characterized by the mere ability to say whatever words that one can think of; such a definition would lead to incomprehensible babble. Instead, this freedom to which Americans habitually refer is properly employed when the right thing to say is uttered at the right time and in the right circumstances. An attention to such a definition certainly leads to a more thoughtful, and dare I say, more free people.

This notion of freedom that was accepted by the founders of the nation confirms the notion that America has been, is and always will be, an idea. The men and women who have died for their country in foreign and domestic battles laid down the burden of their sacrifice in order to protect a sacred idea that every person is made in the image and likeness of God. These courageous patriots who gamble their physical order out of a reverence for the order of their society model for civilians the ideal of what it means to be an American. Through their sacrifice, we recognize that freedom cannot be separated from its unending search of the true, the good and the beautiful. Through their order, we recognize the intimate connection between obeying the wise and practical success. Through their diligence, we recognize the importance of rejecting our preference for pleasure in pursuit of physicalizing the ideals that we hold dear.

Indeed, the image of the soldier has served and continues to serve as a beacon of hope not for what this country once was but as a perpetual symbol for what this country could be. Our time reminds us, perhaps in a starker manner than any past memory, the urgency of protecting the American idea so as to preserve the virtues that it holds up as the height of human flourishing. This idea that the collective American mind has been contemplating for the past 244 years allows for individual persons to succeed and fail in their own way. The glory of their successes could have only been achieved with the aid of their neighbor and the pity of their failures might have only been avoided by this same helping hand.

The successes of American local, state and national governments come about when those institutions recognize that their role is one of protection and not one of charity. Surely there is a difference between the giving of loaf of bread out of love and care for the recipient and the giving of that same loaf because it is the provider’s job. The former requires a personal and original initiative to provide for those in need; the latter requires intergovernmental confirmation that the necessary funds are present for this exchange of utility. The former causes the provider to hurt, even in a minor way, because they lost their free gift; the latter causes no such struggle.

A return of the American idea requires a rejuvenation of civil society. The American founders recognized that the future triumphs of the nation that they were building would come about from an internal drive toward the good in the mind and heart of a citizen and through the mutual cooperation of fellow patriots who had that same motivation. Through the vision of the founders, the government was merely seen as a necessary institution to protect the human genius that desires such greatness.

Great skepticism arises in my mind, then, when the government institutes a new program focused on bettering the lives of the great people who live in a given geographical region. There is no person more concerned with the bettering of his own life than that individual himself. To be clear, it is often the case that we falter from the right path or are even ignorant of the existence and nature of such a path. At the same time, it is ultimately incumbent upon each individual to care for himself in the same way that he would care for a dear friend. It seems that the government has no ability to develop such a personal relationship with a person to the extent that this institution cannot express authentic love. Instead of focusing on the impractical goal of developing an unnatural relationship of love between the government and its people, there should be a recognition between both parties that the role of the former is to protect these wholly personal acts of love between those whom make up the latter.

The separation should be distinct, then, between the American government and the American idea. This idea is lived out every day by men and women who implicitly subscribe to the duties and responsibilities that their churches, families, workplaces and societies place upon them. The greatness of our nation exists because of the greatness of her idea and that of the citizens whom valiantly live it out.

Read other articles by Harry Scherer

God bless America

Angela Guiao
Class of 2021

"A thoughtful mind, when it sees a Nation's flag, sees not the flag only,
but the Nation itself"- Henry Ward Beecher

When my mom found out she was moving to America, she was excited because she heard the streets were made of gold. Growing up in the countryside of the Philippines, her parents gave her a comfortable life, supporting her and her siblings as successful citrus farmers. Though life was considerably slower in the Philippines, and she wasn’t struggling as much as others were, staying in the Philippines meant living a life where she wasn’t happy.

When she was 32 years old, she was offered the opportunity to come to America. When she stepped off the plane at LAX, she discovered that the roads were not, in fact, made of gold. But they weren’t made of dirt either. She stayed at her cousin’s house when she first arrived, and in their front yard they had an American flag hanging from their front porch. She told me that every single time she stepped out of the house, she would see the flag and remember how lucky she was.

In the Philippines, my mother graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, but she had always wanted to be a nurse. When she arrived in America, she got a job as a caregiver for the elderly. She worked as a caregiver for a few years before deciding to move to D.C. to build a life of her own. When she got to D.C., she decided she didn’t like caring for the elderly because she had trouble coping when the people she cared for passed away. So, she turned to childcare. Today, my mother has been caring for children with learning/mental disabilities for over twenty years, and she couldn’t be happier.

My mother understood that America was the land of opportunity. In the Philippines, she may have been highly respected because of her level of education, and she knew that she would have trouble finding a job in her field in the U.S. since her degree was completed in a different country. But she still took the opportunity as a chance to follow her dreams. Though she never got the chance to go to nursing school, she found work that still consisted of caring for others, which has always been her passion. She found happiness in the things she does for a living, and she built a life from her work.

For my mother, America was the place where her dreams could come true. And that is why she keeps a tiny American flag, the kind you find in a souvenir shop, in a vase on her nightstand.

For me, the flag means something different.

It is still the land of opportunity, and it will always be the place that gave my mother a chance at happiness. But it also means more.

I grew up with the privilege and freedom to choose. And I would be lying if I said that there were times I didn’t take that privilege for granted. Graduating with a degree in America would give me opportunities for good jobs and higher pay. I am allowed to be concerned with my own dream but also with societal issues and political views.

My mom’s experience was much simpler. She took what America stood for and ran with it. She grabbed at opportunities, worked hard, and built herself a life she can be proud of.

But for me it isn’t just about building myself a better life. It’s about building a better community, a better culture, a better country. It’s about equality and chances, and the freedom to fight for what you believe. When I see the American flag, I see a country that is not stagnant. A country that evolves, a country that represents the ability to try and fail and try again.

When I see the flag, I see a united country, one too strong to be divided by politics or disagreements. America is the land of opportunity for everyone and anyone. When I see the flag, I see a dignified country, one that allows its citizens to prosper. I see a society built with the purpose of allowing people to thrive. I see opportunity, but not only for a better life. I see the opportunity to understand, to grow, to unite.

I am proud to be American. When I look at the flag, I see all the people that have benefited from this country. I think of all the history classes I’ve taken where I learn about how American’s go through periods of suffering and hardship, only to build themselves back up. I remember what it means to be American. It means being proud, being successful, being happy.

As our nation goes through another unknown, another disaster, I hope we all remember what our flag stands for. We are all suffering the consequences of COVID-19. We need to remember to stand together in these times of hardship even if we are asked to stay 6 feet apart. This is the nation that makes it through anything. It is the nation of promise, of hope. It is a nation that bounces back.

Just as we go through the struggles together, we make it out together. I ask that the next time you look at an American flag, you see not only the opportunities for your own dreams, but also for the dreams of your neighbors and friends. It is easy to feel angry or upset, to be worried about your own lives especially during times of uncertainty or distress. But it is during times of adversity that it is most important for us to stand together.

I am grateful for the opportunities America has given my mother. And I hope we can continue to be the great country that provide opportunities and hope to all peoples. May we continue to be a country that represents the value and positivity of freedom and opportunity. May we continue to be a country that we can be proud of. God bless America.

Read other articles by Angela Guiao

The liberty of independence

Morgan Rooney
MSMU Class of 2020

(6/2020) Every year, on June 14, Americans celebrate Flag Day. My family always flew a flag in the yard and I remember when I was in elementary school and we’d watch the flag be raised every morning to the top of the flagpole. While I had heard of this tradition many times, I never knew much about the subject which prompted me to do some research.

Flag Day was celebrated for the first time in 1877. This was 100 years after the Flag Resolution of 1777. In 1885, a schoolteacher, B. J. Cigrand, arranged a celebration in his Wisconsin school district to celebrate the "Flag Birthday." For years, he advocated for the observation of the flag’s birthday on June 14. Now, flag day celebrates the stars and stripes every year for its birthday. Even though Flag Day was a nationally observed event, it wasn’t made a national holiday until August 3, 1949 when an Act of Congress designated June 14 as National Flag Day.

In December of 1775, the first national flag of the United States of America was adopted. It was called the "Grand Union Flag." Similar to the American flag today, the Grand Union Flag has thirteen alternating red and white stripes which represented the thirteen original colonies. In the top left corner of the flag was a Union Jack. While this was the first American flag, it was used for less than two years.

Because this was in revolutionary times, flying a flag that contained the Union Jack was not a great push for the American revolution. A new flag was created in order to give the nation a flag that was far from similar to the flag that represented Great Britain. This shows the flag’s direct relation to the freedom, liberty and independence of the American people. They strived for full independence, even from the Union Jack which tied them back to the empire that ruled them since they settled in the colonies.

On June 14, 1777, the Star-Spangled Banner, which contained thirteen stars at the time, was adopted as a new symbol of freedom and independence from Great Britain. It was designed by Francis Hopkinson who was a naval flag designer and signer of the Declaration of Independence.

When I was a kid, I remember when we first put up the USA flag in our front yard. It wasn’t something I had ever paid attention to before, but I began counting how many people around us also had flags hanging on the front porch. I was shocked to see that nearly half of my neighbors had the exact same thing in their yards.

This is still something I observe today. It truly shows that the flag represents something important to many people, no matter what that something is. For many, I believe this representation is of freedom. Whether it’s freedom of speech, freedom of religion or the freedom of assembly, the overall freedom we have as a country is represented in the flag.

About two years ago, I studied abroad in France and had the opportunity to visit other European countries as well. While all of these countries are ones with similar rights as the United States, a huge difference I noticed was that their flags weren’t flown nearly as often.

I would see the French flag being flown by older buildings, government buildings, and a number of other homes and businesses, however, it didn’t seem to be nearly as abundant as the American flag. Here, I see it on nearly half of houses and outside a large number of businesses. In fact, when I’m out and about, there’s rarely a point where I can’t go outside, look around and not see the Star-Spangled Banner somewhere within my line of vision.

This is something I’ve noticed about our country that makes it unique to others. We display our flag everywhere and often with pride. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, or what religion you practice, it is your flag and with it, you have the right to your own opinions and beliefs.

I am a fifth generation American with ancestors that came from Northern Europe, especially Ireland and Norway. Most of my ancestors immigrated to the United States in the 1840s and 1850s, with a few exceptions, which was a while after the modern flag design was created. While they obviously didn’t come to the United States because of the flag itself, they came here to live a better life because of the freedoms that the flag promised. Because of my ancestors and their decision to move to the United States to practice their freedoms, I am here today and can practice my own.

While there will always be divisions in our country, something we all have in common is the flag that flies above us and gives us the right to express our different opinions, especially right now. During this complicated time, there are a variety of different opinions floating around about how to and how not to handle the situation. While we all see some points that sound absolutely ridiculous, and others that sound more rational, the flag represents the rights given to us to express our ideas, no matter how crazy they may sound to someone else, and that is something I greatly respect.

While many businesses and other place are beginning to reopen, especially where I live in Texas, many of us still find ourselves at home more than often. Many Flag Day celebrations won’t be taking place as they normally would be, however, this doesn’t mean that our nation's flag and what it represents cannot be celebrated.

This year, as things begin to return back to what was normal, it is important to recognize our freedoms and liberties as an Independent nation. Even though many of our gatherings and celebrations were unable to take place this year, we can still celebrate what we all have in common with our friends and families: Liberty.

Read other articles by Morgan Rooney

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