Cord Byrd: “It was 219 years ago today that the Continental Congress formally designated June 14 as Flag Day. So, today, we…”

“It was 219 years ago today that the Continental Congress formally designated June 14 as Flag Day. So, today, we recognize this anniversary of Flag Day, going back to the time when, as I say, the Continental Congress formally designated the Stars and Stripes as the flag of our country. We honor the symbol of the Nation when we honor the flag. In these days of new-fashioned values and new-fangled technology, we most often forget the old-fashioned patriotism that made this country great. We are a vast nation and we glibly speak of our form of government as a democracy. It would be impossible for a government of a nation that is so sprawling as is the United States of America to be a democracy in the raw and purest sense. This is a republic, a republic. We pride ourselves on our democratic processes but we loosely, very loosely talk of ours as a democracy. It is a republic. And there is a difference. We are a vast nation, becoming more and more diverse in population, language and custom with each passing year, and we would do well to remember often and salute one of our greatest unifying standards, the Stars and Stripes, the American flag.”