Why I'm Flying the Flag this Fourth of July and Committing Myself to Do All I Can to Protect What it Represents

With our democracy in peril like at no time since the Civil War, I am committing myself this Independence Day to doing all I can to save it, and will fight it out as long as it takes

It's been awhile since I've displayed an American flag on Independence Day, not because I don't love my country but because it's been difficult to show pride in it when so many others cloak themselves in this same flag while trying to destroy the principles and values that it represents.

But with our democracy and freedoms in peril like at no time since the Civil War, this is the year for me to proudly fly it again and fight for all it represents, just as those who gave their lives during the Civil War so that "government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth."
I don't know what will happen in four months. I'm more worried today that I have been at any time I can remember. But as a student of history, I do know that probably the only figure in American history who was counted out by the pundits more times than Joe Biden was Abraham Lincoln (the consensus at this point in the 1864 campaign was that he was doomed).

I do know this. I'll be doing everything in my power over the next four months to try to save our democracy. While millions of others are glued to their TV sets watching football in the fall, I'll be talking to as many voters in as many swing states as I can. And when the sun rises on Nov. 6, whatever the outcome may be, the fight for our democracy and the values represented in this flag will continue, and I plan to be on the front lines as long as it takes.
To paraphrase my historical hero, Ulysses S. Grant (another person the pundits loved to shortchange and count out), I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes the rest of my life.
Happy Fourth. Remember, freedom isn't free, and that slogan does not just apply to battlefields in distant lands; it's secured in the fight at home for the hearts and minds of the people of this country, so that we all may see the better angels of our nature and the truth that no one is free until we are all free and equal before the law and the principles embedded in this flag. Because without those principles, this flag means nothing and July Fourth is just another day on the calendar. And none of us want that, do we?

P.S. In case anyone is interested in more Fourth of July thoughts from me, here’s a link to last year’s July 4 post.