THE NEW AGE--Article--November 1989--ARBLAINE.NOV





                     A Letter From "Old Glory"


                       Harold R. Blaine, 32
           3519 Wasatch Drive, Redding, California 96001


     I am your flag, thirteen stripes of red and white with fifty
stars on a field of blue.  A lady named Betsy Ross made the first
representation of me as the flag you know today.  There were only
thirteen stars in my field of blue in those days.  As each new
state was admitted to your Nation, one more star was added.
     I have lived for more than 200 years and have been part of the
struggle and growth of your Nation.  I have been carried into and
through every battle in which your Nation has ever been involved.
I was at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 and felt shrapnel tear
at my very fabric, but I survived and waved proudly in the rockets'
red glare.
     With love I have draped my protecting folds around your sons
and daughters who gave their last full measure of devotion to the
Country they loved that you might continue to enjoy the fruits and
benefits of freedom.
     In more recent decades I went to the moon and am there planted
as a monument to the skill, technical ability, and courage of your
sons and daughters toward the cause of science and human endeavor.
     It saddens me that there are a few citizens of your Nation who
have so little regard for me and what I stand for that they burn
me and spit on me because I haven't been for them all they thought
I should be.  For those few my true meaning is lost to their
selfishness and anger.  This is a shame for I am for most Americans
the symbol of democracy they seek to improve upon and work for
toward its continued well-being.
     Yes, I am your flag, and I fly proudly over you and your
Nation.  I am the visible representation of the land of the free
and the home of the brave.  Even more than this, I am the beacon
of hope lighting the path to freedom for all of the oppressed
people of this world.
     In view of the grave disservice done me by the Supreme Court
of your Nation, I would strongly favor legislation that would
protect me from desecration and retain and preserve me as the
symbol of freedom and democracy.  I am not just a piece of colored
cloth!
                                                  Very truly yours,
                                                  "Old Glory"
                                                  

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