O say can you see,
By the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd
At the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd,
Were so gallantly gleaming?
And the rocket's red glare,
The bombs bursting in air
Gave proof thro' the night
That our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled
Banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free
And the home of the brave.

On the shore dimly seen
Thro' the mist of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host
In dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze,
O'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows,
Half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam
Of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected
Now shines in the stream.
Tis the star-spangled banner
O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free
And the home of the brave.

And where is the band
Who so vauntingly swore,
'Mid the havoc of war
And the battles confusion,
A home and a country
They'd leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out
Their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save
The hireling and slave
From the terror of flight
Or the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner
In triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free
And the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever,
When free men shall stand
Between their loved homes
And the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace,
May the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made
And preserved us a nation!
Then conquer me must,
When our cause it is just,
And this be our motto,
In God is our trust!
And the star-spangled banner
In triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free
And the home of the brave.

IT'S ONLY A PIECE OF CLOTH
but whenever I see it I am reminded of
the great experiment that is America.
I see a living, breathing, exciting land that
people all over the world are literally dying to get into,
and whose sons and daughters die to defend and protect
the values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.


IT'S ONLY A PIECE OF CLOTH
but whenever I see it, I see the vast opportunity of America
and the continuing struggle to be sure the opportunity is offered to everyone, equally.

IT'S ONLY A PIECE OF CLOTH
but it is made with the threads of many cultures, 
woven with the hopes and dreams of all it’s diverse people,
stitched with the spirit of individual rights, united for the common good, and colored red, for the sacrifice of her patriots,
white for the purity and sanctity of our commitment to liberty, and blue, for the loyalty essential to preserve the beacon of freedom.
Please join me in renewing our pledge to an exquisitely beautiful piece of cloth,
The Flag of the United States of America.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, 
the 4th of July 2006.