Proud to Be An American

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

I grew up in a time and place where we recited the Pledge of Allegiance, hand over heart, each school morning.  The uproar you see now and then suggests that isn't the case any longer.  If that's true, it's a shame.  People should be proud of their country and boldly proclaim it every day.  This simple single sentence of fealty was the beginning of my patriotism.  Following are more things that helped shaped my idea of national pride:

Photo credit: Sharla Cunningham

If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life

and I had to start again with just my children and my wife

I'd thank my lucky stars to be living here today

'cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away.

And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me.

And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today

'cause there ain't no doubt I love this land...

God bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota to the hills of Tennessee,

across the plains of Texas from sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston and New York to L.A.

there's pride in every American heart and it's time we stand and say:

That I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me.

And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today

'cause there ain't no doubt I love this land...

God bless the U.S.A.

Written and recorded by Lee Greenwood

Picture from: http://www.ldsliberty.org/i-pledge-
allegiance-to-the-title-of-liberty/

And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.

And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land— Moroni's Title of Liberty, Alma 46:12-13

Photo credit: http://www.sonofthesouth.net/
uncle-sam/patriotic-poster.htm

“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

“A love for tradition has never weakened a nation, indeed it has strengthened nations in their hour of peril. ” ― Winston Churchill

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from sin and set us free. Amen!" ― Billy Graham

The Story of the Statue of Liberty

Unpacking the head of the Statue of Liberty
June 17, 1885

The story of the Statue of Liberty is the story of the difference one determined person can make... with a little help from his friends.

In 1865, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi,  a young French sculptor, went to a banquet near the town of Versailles and got into a conversation with Edouard de Laboulaye, a prominent historian.  De Laboulaye was a great admirer of the United States and observed that the country's centennial was approaching in 1876.  He proposed that France should give America a gift to celebrate the occasion. But what?  Bartholdi proposed a giant statue of some kind ... and thought about it for the next six years.

By 1871, Bartholdi had worked out most of the details in his mind: The American monument would be a colossal statue of a woman called "Liberty Enlightening the World" paid for by the French people. The people of America would finance the pedestal that it stood on.

Photo credit: http://www.neatorrama.com
Illustration from U.S. Patent D11023, Filed Jan 2, 1870.

The idea held such appeal that Bartholdi booked his passage to New York City to seek out support.  When his ship sailed into New York Harbor, he noticed a small 12-acre island near Ellis Island called Bedloe's Island and decided it would make the perfect home for his monument.  Five months later he returned to France, where Napoleon III's open hostility to the ideals celebrated by the Statue of Liberty meant he couldn't speak openly about his proposed project.  In 1874 when Napoleon III was defeated in the Franco Prussian War he got back to work creating a group called the Franco-American Union, supporters from both France and America, to raise funds for the statue.

Even though it soon became evident that he could not design, build, ship and install the statue in time for America's Centennial, which was now just 2 years away, he kept working.  In 1880 the Franco-American Union came up with the idea of holding a Liberty Lottery to raise the $400,000.00 he needed to complete his work. The French were enthusiastic.  The American's not so much.  Some openly wondered if America needed a French statue... even if it was free.

Photo credit: http://www.neatorama.com
Left: The Statue of Liberty being built in Bartholdi's studio.
Right: The head of the statue on exhibit at the 1878 Paris Exposition.

 Congress voted unanimously to accept the gift from France but it didn't provide any funding for the pedestal, and neither did the City of New York. Neither did the state.

By now, the Statue of Liberty's right hand and torch were finished, so Bartholdi shipped it to the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition and had it put on display. For a fee of 50 cents, visitors could climb a 30-foot steel ladder up the side of the hand and stand on the balcony surrounding the torch. Two years later the statue's head was displayed in a similar fashion in Paris, giving people a chance to climb up into the head and peek out from the windows in the crown. But while events like these generated a lot of enthusiasm, they didn't raise as much money as Bartholdi hoped for.  In 1883 Congress again voted down funding $100,000 toward the cost of the pedestal.  Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World, found that so outrageous that he launched a campaign in the pages of his newspaper to raise the money. "The Bartholdi statue will soon be on its way to enlighten the world," he told his readers, "more appropriate would be the gift of a statue of parsimony than a statue of liberty, if this is the appreciation we show of a friendly nation's sentiment and generosity."  After two months of non-stop haranguing, he managed to raise exactly $135.75 of the $200,000 needed to build the pedestal.

The statue was finished and standing in the courtyard of Bartholdi's studio awaiting shipment to the U.S.  In September 1884 work on the pedestal ground to a halt when the project ran out of money. An estimated $100,000 was still needed. When it appeared that New York was coming up empty-handed, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and San Francisco began to compete to have the Statue of Liberty built in their cities.   Furious, Joseph Pulitzer decided to try again.  Appealing to the now larger readership of his newspaper, he said "The statue is not a gift from the millionaires of France to the millionaires of America, but a gift of the whole people of France to the whole people of America. Take this appeal to yourself personally."  This time he got results and work was begun again on the pedestal.  On April 1, Pulitzer announced that the ship containing the crated parts of the statue would leave France aboard the French warship Isere on May 8th. The excitement began to build, prompting a new wave of giving.   The race to fund the pedestal captivated the entire country, and money really began to pour in. People sent in pennies, nickels and dimes ... and they also began buying copies of the World each day to keep track of the race; by the time the dust settled, the World's circulation had exploded to the point that it was the most widely-read newspaper in the entire Western hemisphere. On June 19, the fundraising passed the $75,000 mark; on July 22, the Isere arrived in New York Harbor and began unloading its cargo; bringing the excitement - and the giving - to its peak. Finally on August 11, Pulitzer's goal was met. The headline read: "ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS! TRIUMPHANT COMPLETION OF THE WORLD'S FUND FOR THE LIBERTY PEDESTAL." More than 120,000 people had contributed to the effort, for an average donation of about 83¢ per person. Work on the pedestal now moved at a steady clip; by April 1886 it was finished, and the pieces of the statue itself were put into place. The internal steel and iron framework structure went up first; then the pieces of the statue's outer skin were attached one by one.

Finally on October 28, 1886, at a ceremony headed by President Grover Cleveland, the statue was opened to the public ... more than ten years after the original July 4, 1876 deadline. The statue was late - very late.

Photo credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_Liberty,_NY.jpg

But better late than never!  Thank you, Mr. Bartholdi, for your generosity in sharing your talent and for your determination in holding fast to your dream!!

Flag Crafts

A few summers ago I designed these primitive flag pictures for a Relief Society activity. They are fun and easy and quick to put together. Even the self-proclaimed non-crafters in our group completed this project in about an hour. It's truly that simple!

There are 3 versions ready to download and print or photocopy onto cardstock. Assembly instructions are included in the download.  The quotes in the white stripes are The Pledge of Allegiance (not pictured - I gave mine away without taking a photo and haven't made another yet), the 13th Article of Faith and Moroni's Title of Liberty (both pictured below).

Framed in a simple 8X10 frame, they make a great addition to Americana decor all year or as part of a patriotic display in July.

Here's a free download of the templates!
Primitive Flag Pictures Templates