To the Editor:

“You’re a Grand Old Flag” by George M. Cohan”

You’re a grand old flag, You’re a high flying flag:

And forever in peace, may you wave;

You’re the emblem of, the land I love,

The home of the free and the brave.

Every heart beats true, ‘neath the red, white, and blue,

Where there’s never a boast or brag;

But, should auld acquaintance be forgot,

Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

As a small child, my teachers, parents and grandparents taught me the importance of patriotism. I have fond memories of singing songs that emulate great pride in the love of our country. Many years, our family would gather around the flagpole on Flag Day and raise Old Glory, then spend the evening celebrating it with family and friends.

I write this letter today because I am disheartened by an act of disrespect that I feel is being placed directly underneath our precious American flag. There are some citizens who are demonstrating their Second Amendment right by flying flags with offensive language for all to see. In my opinion, this is a defamation of the flag that I hold close to my heart.

What message does this send to our children? Is it really appropriate to use a repugnant four-letter word on a banner hanging directly underneath the American flag? As the song says above, “forever in peace may you wave.”

In my opinion, our flag is not flying in peace with that kind of propaganda hanging underneath it. As a community, perhaps we need to be unapologetic for standing up against this kind of behavior towards our flag and country.

As we prepare for the upcoming patriotic holidays, let us not be silent and stand up for Old Glory with a hand over our hearts in love for our country.

Sherry Barber

Hillsboro