President Gerald R. Ford passed away on December 26, 2006, and the
following day President Bush issued a proclamation initiating a 30
day mourning period for the nation. In keeping with a long-standing
tradition, the flags on government property in all 50 states as well
as thousands of privately-owned flags across the country were immediately
lowered to "half-mast" in honor of the passing of a former chief of
state.
Many among us see a flag flying at half-mast and think little of it,
especially young Americans who have no recollection of the person
being honored. But what they fail to realize is that we are honoring
more than just the person. We are also honoring the office of
President of the United States.
Regardless of a President's political persuasion or relative level
of success in fulfilling the duties of the office, we honor him (and
someday her) because he was willing to assume the most stressful,
and often thankless job on the face of the planet. When a person is
sworn in as President of the United States, his life is immediately
changed forever - and usually not for the better.
A President is on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And during
his time in office, each and every day is spent grappling with
decisions that range from the routine to whether or not to send our
brave men and women in uniform into harm's way in defense of our
nation. And on top of all that, assuming the highest office in the
land means accepting the fact that for the rest of your days you
just might be dodging the bullets of deranged individuals like the
two young ladies who tried to assassinate President Ford.The Flag of the United States of America flies above all others,
serving as our most visible symbol of the unparalleled freedom that
we Americans are able to enjoy because of the sacrifices of those
who chose to serve our country. When we see the beautiful Stars and
Stripes being lowered to half-mast, it usually means that one of
them has finally been relieved of his duties. And even if we weren't
happy with his performance, we still owe him our respect simply for
being willing to accept the challenges and mind-bending stresses of
the office.
Trish
Elliott took today's picture at Parker's Ranch, a private cow
raising farm in Oklahoma. Mr. Parker owns more than 1,000 acres of
land, and he buys new American Flags to replace the existing one
when it becomes damaged in any way. The flag is brightly lit at
night, flying high on top of a hill that sits off Highway 69 between
Wagoner and Chouteau, Oklahoma.
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