While I was driving today, I was scanning the horizon up
ahead of me. I noticed the Wasatch Mountains were a beautiful, cold gray on a
February afternoon. The beautiful blue and gray colors of the majestic
mountains were contrasted in one small spot by an American flag. A single beam
of sun split the clouds and rested directly on the flag. It appeared to be ablaze
as it was illuminated by the sun.
I rushed to stop and grab a picture of that flag in its full blazing glory, but the shaft of sunlight that illuminated it slipped beyond the flag just as I stopped my car.
I found that imagery, however fleeting, to be quite symbolic. The hope and promise that is the American dream should burn bright. The background that is the rest of the world’s nations is not necessarily dismal, but the hue that is the rest of the world - our neighbors, allies, and friends throughout the world - like the majestic Wasatch Mountains, is actually quite beautiful and magnificent in its own regard. But the standard of liberty that the United States has the honor of carrying should stand bright to all who can see it shine.
I also found significant symbolism in how rapidly that bright blaze faded away. We must always stand vigilant, safeguarding liberty and freedom. The guiding light that the American ideal provides has the potential to slip away more rapidly than we may realize.
I choose not to telegraph my own political viewpoints with this post as they would potentially diminish the meaning of the underlying message. What I truly wish to convey and wish all Americans would recognize is that we Americans have an individual responsibility to do what we can to protect and uphold those fragile ideals that enable the American dream for our own sake and for the sake of those around us. The significant responsibility of supporting and standing up for what it means to be an American rests squarely upon our shoulders.
Just as that flag burned bright before the mountains behind it, we as individuals and as a nation must stand bright as a beacon to the rest of the world of the opportunities and possibilities are available to those who embrace liberty, freedom, and place the magnificent rights that are bestowed upon us by our creator above all else.
I rushed to stop and grab a picture of that flag in its full blazing glory, but the shaft of sunlight that illuminated it slipped beyond the flag just as I stopped my car.
I found that imagery, however fleeting, to be quite symbolic. The hope and promise that is the American dream should burn bright. The background that is the rest of the world’s nations is not necessarily dismal, but the hue that is the rest of the world - our neighbors, allies, and friends throughout the world - like the majestic Wasatch Mountains, is actually quite beautiful and magnificent in its own regard. But the standard of liberty that the United States has the honor of carrying should stand bright to all who can see it shine.
I also found significant symbolism in how rapidly that bright blaze faded away. We must always stand vigilant, safeguarding liberty and freedom. The guiding light that the American ideal provides has the potential to slip away more rapidly than we may realize.
I choose not to telegraph my own political viewpoints with this post as they would potentially diminish the meaning of the underlying message. What I truly wish to convey and wish all Americans would recognize is that we Americans have an individual responsibility to do what we can to protect and uphold those fragile ideals that enable the American dream for our own sake and for the sake of those around us. The significant responsibility of supporting and standing up for what it means to be an American rests squarely upon our shoulders.
Just as that flag burned bright before the mountains behind it, we as individuals and as a nation must stand bright as a beacon to the rest of the world of the opportunities and possibilities are available to those who embrace liberty, freedom, and place the magnificent rights that are bestowed upon us by our creator above all else.
