The Star Spangled Banner

After being glued to the Television set for a week, watching replays of the destruction of the World Trade Center. Seeing people tell hart wrenching stories of how they lost loved ones. I was feeling down and depressed. So I went out for a walk, and everywhere I looked in my neighborhood I saw newly displayed American flags.

Suddenly a wave of emotion came across me as I got a feeling for how Sir Francis Scott Keys might have felt when he wrote the Star Spangled Banner. He had spent the prior evening watching a fort get decimated with enemy artillery, but even after having taken a horrible beating “Our flag was still there.”

America has taken a heavy and humiliating blow, But the American people remain strong, proud, and are committed to our values. All across America people are displaying a reminder or our credo “One nation, under God, indivisible with Liberty and Justice for all”. I used to laugh at people who would have such strong emotions about a symbol. But now when I see our flag, I feel grateful for being born in a land of freedom, opportunity and prosperity. I appreciate each day as I no longer take anything for granted.

ElderX

An audio version of this story and other recordings can be found at Elderx.cc