Thirteen Reasons!
By Jim E. Reames (08/05/03)
Have you ever asked yourself why the military fires 21 rounds of ammunition at honor guard funerals? The answer is a simple one. It was something we were taught in public school when I was a littleboy. The number twenty-one is the sum of the digits of the year 1776.
Another thing that was taught to us children, at taxpayer’s expense (in our public schools) was why the American flag gets folded precisely 13 times. Our raising and our lowering the flag above our school was an event that occurred each and every school day, unless it was raining. To have flown our national flag during bad weather was considered to be disrespectful of our flag. And if it ever was permitted to so much as touch the ground, then that flag was to be destroyed by fire, a responsibility that was sometimes performed by either the school principal or the janitor.
On one or two occasions we students were called out of our classrooms so we could be shown, and witnesses “…the proper way of disposing our beloved flag, by fire.” And on those days that was the only reason why our flag got burned, to respectfully destroy it, “…to safeguard it against disrespectful use.”
We were told, "That level of reverence is the only way to properly honor the brave men and women who gave their lives for the interests of our nation, and for our flag. For on the battlefield brave men would sometimes die just to preserve the honor of our nation’s flag."
So as school children we considered it an honor to be permitted the privilege of helping the school janitor either raise or lower the flag above our playground. It was not at all uncommon to see him running (Or when we were older we ourselves were on occasion emergency-dispatched) to the flagpole by our teacher, at the first sign of rain.
Inside our classrooms we often times were shown, and taught, and practiced, the proper way to display or to fold our American flag.
The memory of that teaching makes me sad to see our flag drenched in the rain, or turned to a frayed rag by the wind, or of it being wadded into a wrinkled ball after taken down. All too often it is just left to weather and fade away.
The raising and the lowering of our flag used to always be a two person job, where one person was responsible for the physical lifting or lowering, and the other person was responsible for safeguarding the flag's integrity.
When I was a child in public school in the 1950s we were all taught that our flag got folded thirteen times for the following thirteen reasons:
The 1st fold of our flag is a symbol of life.
The 2nd fold is a symbol of our belief in eternal life.
The 3rd fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing our ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense of our country to attain peace throughout the world.
The 4th fold represents our weaker nature, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in times of war for His divine guidance.
The 5th fold is a tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen Decaur, “Our country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right: but it is still our country, right or wrong.”
The 6th fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our hearts that, “We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all!”
The 7th fold is a tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect our flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of our Republic.
The 8th fold is a tribute to the one who entered the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day.
The 9th fold is a tribute to womanhood, and to mothers. For it has been through their faith, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great has been molded.
The 10th fold is a tribute to the fathers. For they, too, have given their sons and daughters for the defense of our country since they were first born.
The 11th fold represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon and glorifies in the Hebrew’s eyes, the God of Abraham and Jacob.
The 12th fold represents the emblem of eternity and glorifies, in the Christians’ eyes, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The 13th fold or when the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost, reminding us of our Nation’s motto, “In God we trust.”
After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington, and the sailors and marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for us the rights, privileges and freedoms we enjoy today.
So now I feel compelled to ask:
Why are these traditions no longer a required part of America’s academia?
How long has it been since you heard an elected official speak such words?
What has become of our beloved America?
How can we continue to endorse the manipulated liberal rights that demanded giving birth to disrespect… to pornography… to crime… to abortion… to murder… to slander… to greed… to hatred… to envy… to indifference, and to all the rest of the hidden agenda of liberal America. and at the same time even speak of the above with true reverence?
When our federal judges, and when our United States Supreme Court, and when our elected officials feel compelled to vote in favor of any liberalism that diminishes the thirteen reasons why our beloved American is folded, then shame on them! They are, all of them, enemies of the United States of America. They are, all of them, enemies of freedom. So shame on them!
How long has it been since any member of the liberal press has stood for such values as these?
How long has it been since you heard a member of the Democratic Party even begin to endorse the true idealisms that are so strongly communicated by the way our flag gets folded? Do not the subjects of abortion rights, gun control, social reform, issues of race, the economy, and political hatreds always dominate the debate, instead?
Has not our worshiping "at the alter of diversity” brought death to these once hallowed teachings? If so, then shame on the educators. And because that death is largely due to a volley of United States Supreme Court decisions, then shame on the United States Supreme Court. And shame on our Congress and our Senate for being too cowardly to stand up for things once considered to be pure and hallowed. Most of all, shame on all of use for permitting the many perversions of our times.
When our United States Supreme Court took it upon itself to eliminate any form of basic Christian expression by our government, it not only re-drafted our Constitution via jurisprudence; but it also extinguished the illumination of God’s Holy light upon our beloved Constitution and the framework of this great nation.
According to recent news media polls most American voters (especially in large populated states like New York and California) appear to be proud they belong to the Democratic Party. Yet, I challenge….you the reader…to find any liberal (or any elected Democrat) to publicly place his or her signature on the above thirteen reasons for folding this nation’s flag, and do so from their heart.
Many, of course, will do so for showmanship. They give lip service to the thirteen reasons. But then listen to how they skirt away, always in the direction of things like abortion rights, gun control, social reform, issues of race, the economy, and political hatreds. That is why I do not trust the Democratic political platform or its leadership.
America, I believe, will never solve its many problems until we citizens individually return to some of the basic values that are described by the thirteen reasons for folding our flag, and then demand the same of our elected officials and of our judges. Our homeland defense will never be strong upon the false alter of diversity.
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