Flying the Flag

I remember the day my Grandma Laing died. In the living room of her apartment in downtown Pleasanton were two table top flags. One was the Sweden flag and the other was the U.S. flag.

My grandma was Swedish to the core of her soul, however since the family came to the U.S., they were Americans.

My grandma took great pride in being an American. She took responsibility in being an American and voted in every election. Grandma was loyal to the Democratic Party to the day she died. She was a Democrat when it meant something to be a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent.

One time my brother or my dad I forget which one now, put a Republican candidates sign in my grandma’s bushes outside so bystanders could see it and it took her a few days to find it. We laughed so hard and still think it is funny to this day years after Grandma passed away.

My grandma was also lucky enough to travel the world, learned about other cultures and respected their traditions. However, she always came home to her home, America.

So what does this have to do with anything? This week on the news, there were several stories about a Northern California school where boys wore t-shirts with the American flag on them on Cinco de Mayo and some Mexican students were offended. Whether this is the whole story or not, no one will never know except for the parties involved.

I know I would never dream of being in Mexico on the 4th of July and being offended if Mexico chose not to celebrate America's Independence Day.

Really to the root of the matter, this is America. It is with our freedom we fly our flag and have responsibilities as citizens. It is with our flag that men and women in the Service fight to protect and serve our country and the freedom it offers. It is with our flag we can proudly say we are Americans everyday.