Agreed!
Couldn’t agree with Councilman Jon Crowley more at the Atlantic Highlands Council meeting this week. I was making an effort to show the importance of recognizing, respecting, and honoring the American flag and other important events during the month of June. Disappointing that anyone feels that that has to be done at a council meeting, in the first place, but I did.
Resolutions
The governing body passed two resolutions, one citing Juneteenth and another one, gratefully, honoring D-Day.
Honorable Mentions
But no resolution mentioned June 14 is Flag Day. No resolution mentioned June 14 is also the birthday of the United States Army formed under George Washington in 1774, even before the Declaration of Independence, let alone birth of the nation.
Other Days
So I cited other national observances on June 19….Monkey Around Day, National Bourbon Day, Pop Goes the Weasel day and Strawberry Shortcake Day, all of which I think are pretty silly and unworthy of national recognition. But officially they have it and I was mocking them. I also mentioned it is World Blood Donor Day another day that should certainly be recognized, and said it was even the birthday of a former President, yet none of these is honored.
Insulting?
Addressing my comments later on in the meeting, Councilman Crowley said my citing all these other days, as I had done, was an insult to the American flag and kind of chided me for being so insulting to the flag and the Army.
I did thank him after the meeting. I did not take his remarks as a personal insult, but rather an emphasis on what I was trying to prove…. Things like National Blood Donor Day , perhaps, but not so much, even a former President’s birthday but for positive the birthday of the United States Army should also be recognized by resolution if we are to have them at just about every meeting. Yet Councilman Crowley nor anyone else on Council read resolutions for those national observances.
Sharing the Spotlight
I also took issue with all the American Flags sharing light posts with multi-colored flags, placed in such a way so that the American flag’s placement is only respected depending on which way you’re seeing it, coming or going from the entrance to town or the harbor. That could so easily be resolved by only placing the multi-colored flags on every other light post, and letting the nation’s standard continue to stand proudly and alone for proper respect.
Fly the Flag
So here’s an idea. During the month of July, certainly the birthday of the nation, let’s keep those American flags flying. Then let’s fly the flag for each of the branches of the military all month; they represent the men and women who are keeping our nation free and enabling us to raise flags for whatever cause we choose to celebrate, honor, or remember.
