| Patriotism:
A New Priority |
| When my wife and I bought a townhouse in Reston two years
ago, one of the first things we loved about our neighborhood
was that our neighbors put their flags out on holidays. |
| Each Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day is filled
with color as the American flag hangs from staffs standing
diagonally away from the front walls of the homes. |
| The Fourth of July is a particularly great time to be in
our neighborhood, as a bunch of families get together each
year and have a very "Americana" parade down our
main street with sparklers glowing, flags and ribbons waving,
and children dancing with their faces painted red, white and
blue. |
| Someone is usually marching with a radio blasting the national
anthem, and the neighbors pour out of their houses to smile
and applaud, and maybe honk a car horn or two, as the entourage
passes by en route to the nearby meadow, where an afternoon
party is held. |
| Nothing could be more American than those parades on the
Fourth of July. |
| However, as much as Katie and I meant to, we never did get
around to buying a flag of our own to hang near the front
door of our house on special occasions. After having forgotten
all about it, the notion would spring back into our minds
at the same instant that we saw our neighbors' flags hanging
proudly. |
| Then, while out running errands, the thought would escape
us. And then it would no longer be the Fourth of July or Memorial
Day, and so the urgency of getting a flag right then would
be released. |
| When Katie and I got home from work on Sept. 11, our neighbors
had their flags out in a silent and immediate show of support
for victims and heroes of the disastrous news of the day in
New York and at the Pentagon. |
| The first thing Katie said to me that evening was, "We've
got to get a flag." And she was right. Now more than
ever, we needed to show our support for our nation. |
| But suddenly, flags were in short supply, not just in Reston
but across the country. It seems Americans from sea to shining
sea were just like Katie and me. We had never made patriotism
a priority before Sept. 11, but we all wanted to now. |
| Over the next few days we checked every store we went into,
even those that were unlikely to sell flags at all. All of
them were out, and many had signs on the doors or the check-out
counters telling customers that they wouldn't have any flags
for a while. |
| At the newspaper, we heard stories of people jockeying for
position in line to get the only shipment of flags at one
store, and of employees hogging up most of the flags for themselves
and their families, and leaving customers in a lurch, at another. |
| Eventually, we were able to provide a small symbol of support
by taping a large drawing of the American flag to our front
window so it was visible from the street. |
| That drawing of the flag isn't big enough. It doesn't matter
if it gets wet. You don't have to call up the local American
Legion post to find out what the rules are for displaying
a drawing of the flag. You don't have to treat it with respect. |
| It's not enough to express the solidarity Katie and I feel
with other Americans during this time in our history, the
sorrow we share with victims, or the resolve we have developed
to grow through this. |
| Katie and I couldn't help anyone at the World Trade Center
or the Pentagon. We can't lend a hand to the heroes, or help
the military develop its strategies, or aid in making America
a more secure society that is still the home of freedom. |
| But we could fly the American flag. |
| And the one promise I can make to myself in the wake of
these events is this: We will never be caught without a flag
again. |
