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I Am Not Ashamed of the American Flag The American flag has taken a real beating since 9-11. To many it has become a "feel good" rag to be flown from cars, housetops, and front lawns. To others it has become a cool article of clothing. To anti-war demonstrators it has become the symbol of American oppression around the world. To our Generals in the Pentagon and Iraq, it has become a "politically incorrect" symbol that must be hidden at all cost. Yes, even our Generals have, at every turn, forbidden the display of the American flag in the war for Iraqi liberation. Yet one can discern in the heart of every young soldier a yearning to fly it. Yes, there is an irrepressible desire to let the world know that where this flag flies, there is true freedom and real liberation. My recent trip to Yale University helped clarify my thoughts concerning our flag. When we arrived at the gates of hell (the entrance of Yale) the first thing we ran into were Yalies (students) with 12 large American flags lying on the ground. The flags were carefully placed upon a layer of plastic to show some form of respect for the "Stars and Stripes." The Yalies busied themselves taking AJAX and washing the brand new flags with toothbrushes. We thought this to be very odd and asked the "young and brilliant" exactly what it was that they thought they were doing. They replied that they were cleaning the filth and dirt from the flag of the United States of America. We were then handed a flyer that depicted twenty-two U.S. bombings of various nations around the globe in the last 50 years (notably absent were the bombs dropped during the Clinton Administration on Kosovo and Afghanistan). To the Yalies, America had become a totalitarian, colonialist "regime" that cared nothing for the sovereignty of other nations and peoples. Therefore, America was in Iraq to bomb, kill, destroy, and exploit. Yes, America was dirty, therefore the flag needed cleaning. This was soooo Yale! To hear the kids tell it, America had become like Jesus' description of the devil himself. The Name of Jesus is not welcomed at Yale unless, of course, it is used as a curse word. Yale has lost all memory of its rich Christian heritage. During Yale's first 100 years, all of its Presidents were also ministers of the Gospel of Christ! I asked our "diligent scrubbers" if they knew what the seven red stripes on our flag represented. They did not know and they did not care. They were unaware of the high price paid for their American liberty. They did not know that these seven red stripes testify that the price is measured in blood, and that it cost much to make and keep us free. They did not care that the red stripes proclaim loudly that liberty was bought with the blood of those who freely laid their lives down for the benefit of others. Jesus demonstrated this by laying His own life down that we might be free. Liberty-true liberty-is purchased by the blood of those who have gone before us. Our liberty in America was bought for us, first by Christ Himself freeing us from sin, and then by the sacrifices of those who followed hard after Him. Liberty and blood go hand in hand. The American flag epitomizes this liberty. There is not another nation on this earth where there is freedom like in America. There is not another nation on this earth that has been used by God so often to stop the tyrants of history from murdering at will. The American flag is a symbol of freedom to the world. That is why so many from Islamic nations flood the gates to get into America. There is no liberty in Islam - only bondage. There is only the tyranny of shar'iah law and the vitriol of Islamic Imams who demand submission. We should not be apologizing for the American flag as we liberate Iraq, for without the Spirit of the Lord there will never be liberty in that land. What made America free and her flag a symbol of that freedom can be found in the hearts of our Pilgrim forefathers who, before founding a new nation, were first liberated by Christ. They came to the New World to be free. They built a nation upon the precepts of Christ and the Bible. The American flag is a symbol of that liberty. Liberty-true liberty-begins in the hearts of men set free by the Gospel of Christ. As the hearts of men are transformed, society itself begins to reflect that change. America is proof of this truth! For a society to be free from the tyranny of religions, false ideologies, and dictators, its people must first be free in Christ. Our Founding Fathers revealed this liberty of the heart in the last sentence of the Declaration of Independence. "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of the divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." It was Christ who had set their hearts free so that they could lay their own lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor down for each other and for future generations. In signing this Declaration, they signed their own death warrants, yet these 56 men signed it believing their lives not to be their own. Through the centuries, the American flag has become the symbol of liberty. All who despise Christ and the freedom He brings hate this flag! This includes students and professors attending universities in our own nation, or after failing at that, those who have become actors. This includes all the anti-war protesters that we see around the nation and the world. These would rather be subjected to Communism, Islam, or anarchy than to be free in Christ. The collective brain-power here is astonishing and is visibly demonstrated on the streets as they burn American flags, smash windows, throw rocks, throw-up, and die-in, all in the name of peace. Why do enemies, both foreign and domestic, hate the American flag? When Osama Bin Laden, Yasser Arafat, and Saddam Hussein see the American flag they see Jesus Christ. Not the "jesus" of the Qur'an, who happens to be one of the prophets, but the Jesus of the Bible who claims to be and is, God Himself. It is Him who they hate! All the more reason we Christians must say, "Let this flag fly in Iraq!" Stop the "political correctness," Generals! What do you fear? The American flag provides a platform for every American soldier to bring the Gospel of Christ to the hearts of the Iraqi people. They have been slaves for years - set them free! "...where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17 Yes, the American flag has become dirty, my young friends at Yale, but not because of what it represents or the history of those who have gone before us. It has become dirty because people like you and me who have received the magnificent benefits of those who died to make us free, have taken this liberty and turned it into license. We have killed over 45 million little baby boys and girls in the name of our own personal freedom. No longer do we lay our lives down for others. We take the lives of others to make our lives easy. It is not our flag that is the problem. It is us. We have made this precious symbol dirty! If anyone needs a bath, it is those of us who have forgotten what the seven red stripes signify on the American flag. It was Christ's blood that was shed first to set us free, and then the eternal vigilance of those who came after Him by laying their lives down that others might be free. We have forgotten this truth. The American flag will help us to remember. Let it fly! Let it fly in Iraq! Let it fly in our own land proclaiming, "liberty to the captives." Andrew Johnson, President of the United States of America immediately after Lincoln's assassination, said it this way: "Let us look forward to the time when we can take the flag of our country and nail it below the cross, and there let it wave as it waved in olden times, and let us gather around it and inscribe as our motto: 'Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, now and forever,' and exclaim, 'Christ first, our country next!'"
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