Patriotism is something I hold dear to my heart.

I understand America is not perfect and probably will never be, but whenever I see an American flag fly I feel a strong sense of pride in being an American and I love seeing others like me. For my flag flyers of NIU and DeKalb, do you know much about our great nation’s flag? As well, do you know the rules for flying it?

According to usa-flag-site.org, the first American flag was reportedly sewn by Betsy Ross in May 1776. This was an important undertaking due to the fact we were still fighting for our independence from the British. This citizen’s faith in our future freedom is only one of the reasons why we should feel a sense of pride whenever we see one of our flags flown.

The colors on our nation’s flag are not just meant to be something pretty to look at. Reportedly, the red represents hardiness and valor, the white represents purity and innocence, and the blue represents vigilance, perseverance and justice. These are all incredible virtues in which I believe our nation is responsible to uphold, as well we as citizens of this great country.

There are many rules when it comes to displaying a flag, and I find it rather offensive if one were to not follow these rules. This is especially bothersome when I see our flag flying during a rainstorm. While it is not technically against the rules to fly a flag in the rain, it should be a specially designed flag that can handle weather conditions. These are some important rules I feel we need to take better care at following when it comes to our nation’s colors according ushistory.org:

1. If you chose to display a flag on your vehicle, make sure you have it mounted on the right side of your vehicle.
2. When being placed in a window, ensure the blue is hanging to the left corner as from the point of view of outside observers.
3. In my opinion one of the most important rules from united-states-flag.com: A stationary flag should be flown from dawn until dusk unless it is properly illuminated at night.

We should take pride in our country and be proud to represent our freedom by flying our nation’s colors. I know a lot of people think America is all screwed up and corrupt, but the actions of a single part of the government should not make us forget what the flag stands for. That flag stands for our freedom, our history, our pride and our unity. Not for the actions of someone in Washington, D.C., or Springfield or anywhere else.

People may think America is so terrible, but trust me: I have seen a whole lot of the world, and America is the best country I’ve been to, hands down.