every heart beats true

Last night, putting the flags back up after their day spent at half-staff -- felt like, Man, this would mean more -- be more meaningful -- if the flags had not been lowered to half-staff so often, & on such a regular basis for about the past 6 or 8 years or so.

Pre-9/11 it seems like flags were flown at half-staff only on a Select Few days.  It was unusual.  And we always noticed.  And realized the significance.

Nowadays it's gotten to be --

all the time, and all the time,
down and up and
down and up and
down-and-up,
down - up
down - up
down - up.

The Significance and Gravity that used to invest the flying of the American flag (and state flag, etc.) at half-staff,
has eroded,
apace with the increased frequency of Half-Staff days.

And it felt a little bit "off" yesterday, to have the flags down becaue of 9-11 -- I don't know why.  Another worker at my place of employment expressed it:  "It's like we [America] -- it's like we're on our knees"...and when he said that I realized I'd been feeling kind of like that, too -- like, "Let's not fly the flags at half-staff and bow down to what those terrorists did.  Let's not let them get us down, & keep us down, 11 years later...."

And thought about it later at night, and -- it's probably like -- the tradition of flying flags at half-staff on certain solemn occasions is an old tradition, from earlier times, and maybe the modern personality, with its modern perspective, has kind of "lost" the point of that, in our way of thinking.

Like my co-worker said, "We got him!"  [Bin Laden]...and he added, "I'm over it."
And when he said that, I realized I kind of felt the same way....

I'm thinking now, that the act of flying the flags "At-Half" is
not
supposed to be "bowing down" to the terrorists, or letting them bum us out,
it's probably supposed to be more like a
solemn
expression of
sympathy, honor, and respect,
toward the
Americans
who --
served,
helped,
lost their lives,
due to that bizarre and incomprehensible attack.

Symbolic, solemn remembrance and respect, done in a dignified, old tradition.

But I really had to think about it & remind myself of that.

The last two, or three, or four or five times we've been told to fly the flags at half-staff for a day due to whatever-it-was, I thought, Geez, we're going to have to put 'em down At-Half AGAIN for 9/11, can't they give-it-a-rest, this gesture is losing all meaning....

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You're a grand old flag,

You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.

You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.

Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

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-- George M. Cohan

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