{"id":4053,"date":"2017-06-14T07:52:16","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T11:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=4053"},"modified":"2017-06-09T15:53:53","modified_gmt":"2017-06-09T19:53:53","slug":"a-flag-speaks-about-patriotism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/a-flag-speaks-about-patriotism\/","title":{"rendered":"A flag speaks about patriotism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Franklin<\/a>On Flag Day more than 100 years ago, Franklin K. Lane, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, delivered a stirring address about the American flag to more than 1,000 of his employees.<\/p>\n

<\/a>His words are even more patriotic when his birthplace is considered: Prince Edward Island. At the time, that made him a British citizen (the island is now part of Canada). He became a U.S. citizen when his family moved to California.<\/p>\n

After a stint in journalism, Lane entered politics and served in the cabinets of three presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson.<\/p>\n

\"Small<\/a>Lane\u2019s Flag Day remarks began: \u201cThis morning,\u2026the Flag dropped me a most cordial salutation, and from its rippling folds I heard it say: \u2018Good morning, Mr. Flag Maker.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018I beg your pardon, Old Glory,\u2019 I said, \u2018I am not the President of the United States, nor a member of Congress, nor even a general in the Army. I am only a government clerk\u2019\u201d who was just doing his job.<\/p>\n

Replied the flag, \u201cThe work that we do is the making of the Flag. I am not the Flag; not at all. I am but its shadow. I am whatever you make me, nothing more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Old Glory continued by asserting that \u201cI am your belief in yourself, your dream of what a people may become. I live a changing life\u2026.Sometimes, I am strong with pride, when men do an honest work, fitting the rails together truly. Sometimes, I droop, for purpose has gone from me, and cynically I play the coward\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut always, I am all that you hope to be and have the courage to try for. I am song and fear, struggle and panic, and ennobling hope. I am the day\u2019s work of the weakest man and the largest dream of the most daring.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>\u201cI am the Constitution and the courts, statutes and state-maker, soldier and dreadnaught, drayman and sweep, cook, counselor and clerk\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am no more than what you believe me to be and I am all that you believe I can be. I am what you make me; nothing more.\u201d<\/p>\n

The theme of Lane\u2019s speech \u2013 that the flag is a reflection of what Americans make of themselves \u2013 became instantly famous. For years, newspapers and magazines reprinted it, and schoolchildren recited it.<\/p>\n

What do you make of the American flag in 2017?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Flag Day more than 100 years ago, Franklin K. Lane, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, delivered a stirring address about the American flag to more than 1,000 of his employees. His words are even more patriotic when his birthplace is considered: Prince Edward Island. At the time, that made him a British citizen (the… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,77,3,151,19],"class_list":["post-4053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-american-flag","tag-flag-day","tag-history","tag-old-glory","tag-patriotism"],"yoast_head":"\nA flag speaks about patriotism - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/a-flag-speaks-about-patriotism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A flag speaks about patriotism - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Flag Day more than 100 years ago, Franklin K. 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