Statue of Liberty

When I was in the 5th grade, I was the Statue of Liberty in our school play.  I was dressed in some long silky gown, holding a piece of pipe covered in tin foil. I gave a speech about freedom and democracy and then we all sang “God Bless America” and pledged allegiance to the flag. I realized years  later that the reason I got to be the Statue of Liberty was that I was the tallest girl in our class that year.

We were patriotic back then. We pledged allegiance to the flag every morning and bowed our heads as the teacher lead us in prayer.

At the 4th of July celebration every year, we began with the “Star Spangled Banner” and the flag salute, plus a prayer for safety for the American Legion men who were putting on the fireworks display.

At the Will Rogers Memorial Rodeo parade each year, we stood at attention with our hands over our hearts when the horse and rider presented the U.S. flag. At the grand entry the first night of the rodeo, when the horse and rider raced around the arena with the U.S. flag waving high, we leaped to attention, again with our hands over our hearts. My heart swelled with pride until I thought it would leap out of my chest.

I guess patriotism isn’t as popular as it once was, but I noticed something lately. The Baby Boomers who were around during the 60s and 70s, criticizing the government, are now the most patriotic of all. We all remember our school days. We remember the songs our music teacher taught us to sing in 5th grade. We remember the flag salute and standing at attention when the flag was presented. We remember the 4th of July as a celebration of freedom, not just a 3-day weekend to play around at the lake with fireworks to watch.

Now it is our turn to show the younger ones that patriotism doesn’t go out of style.