No, it is not the Fourth of July, Memorial Day or Veterans Day. It is not even Flag Day. Wasn’t there a Flag Day once?

But, for a moment, I would like to mention something about our flag. I hope not to offend, because you see, the flag represents the right to say what is on one’s mind. It also does more.

Anytime I see our flag burned in a country, especially our own, I take it personally. The cloth of stars and stripes followed many a soldier through the last few hundred years into battles. They walked into the enemy territory with all their might; win or lose, the flag still stood.

Our country may have leaders we do not agree with sometimes, or all the time. But the flag symbolizes the lives of those before us who made it happen. We voted these people in, whether they were good leaders or not. We can speak against them and their ideas.

We can make or change any law we want in this country, pass bills, cheer D.C. or stand against it all. We have the right to protest. We are not the perfect country of the world, but we are luckier than anyone else on the globe because of how our flag has transformed.

Without our own ancestors who backed us up since 1776 and still do, the military that stands up while we enjoy our pleasures here, our time for now would have been so different.

No matter what, we are the most independent country of the world, no matter what happens to the market or what is in the news. Maybe jobs come and go, but the flag is the hope.

So, I hang a flag, from someone who carelessly threw it out in the trash, at my front door. I do not wear it on my flip-flops, on my T-shirt, use it for a bumper sticker or a piece of accessory for my clothing in any way — most especially at the rear of a pair of jeans. Never would it be a rug to step on or cover the back of my truck.

The only way the flag should be shown is hanging proudly, flapping in the wind. Yes, I am a retired military wife. I am also an American.

There are things I may speak out against or for. Whether I agree with the Presidents always or not will not matter.

But, you try to trash a United States flag, and I have plenty to say. The red, white and blue gave me the chance to do so. It is a symbol of respect, and I do respect the flag. It is more than a mere piece of cloth.