Flag Day Honors Unity
By Bob Small
Today is Flag Day.
The Second Continental Congress passed a resolution on June 14, 1777 by approving the design of New Jersey delegate Francis Hopkinson for the American flag.
The first time this flag over a foreign territory was in early 1778 at Nassau, Bahamas, upon capture of a British Fort.
Presidents Coolidge and Wilson both issued proclamations for Flag Day but it only became official on Aug. 3, 1949 when President Harry Truman signed the law approved by Congress.
It is not an official federal holiday, however.
Did Betsy Ross sew the first flag? The claim was circulated by her descendants, citing her previous business dealings with George Washington.
This can’t be established with certainty but it is plausible and consistent with the evidence .
In Betsy Ross’s Philadelphia our truth is “Betsy Ross made the flag. This is our story and we’re sticking to it.”
Some, notably Colen Kaepernick and the Southern Poverty Law Center, object to display of the 13-star flag claiming it symbolizes hate. They cite its use by some extremist groups.
Others point out that any symbol can co-opted and the overwhelming number of those who fly the original do so out of sincere patriotism.
Maybe we should honor both our founding and the multi-race, multi-faith country we have
