The 56 brave signers of the Declaration of Independence pledged, among other things, their sacred honor. The Medal of Honor is the highest recognition of military valor there is. President Dwight Eisenhower said he would have traded the White House for it and Gen. George Patton stated he would have traded his command for it. The United States of America is fortunate to be replete with examples of individuals willing to sacrifice everything for their country, those who have demonstrated the true meaning of honor and who inspire faith in the flag.
At times it can be tempting to get downhearted about problems happening close to home, the state of our country or the precarious position of global order. Right now, people are polarized. COVID (and/or our response to it) still remains a haunting presence. The American dream and homeownership seem harder to come by and inflation continues its upward trend. There is a humanitarian crisis at our southern border, and our nation is still reeling from Afghanistan, while now confronting a totally new foreign policy nightmare in Ukraine. Things appear to be bleak.
Periods of despair have gripped our nation before, but for every downtrodden time, there’s a hero, victory, moment or person of honor that revives hope.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” gives us the perfect example of this. I tend to play it (particularly the 1991 Super Bowl version by Whitney Houston) over and over again on Independence Day, perhaps to the chagrin of my nieces and nephews who are probably tired of hearing me opine about the history of our national anthem.
Penned by Francis Scott Key after he witnessed Fort McHenry, off the coast of Baltimore, Maryland, be bombarded by Great Britain during the war of 1812. At the time, things seemed incredibly perilous. America was still a fledgling nation going up against the world superpower for the second time in just a few decades. The British had just finished burning the White House, Capitol and Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Then their sights were set on Baltimore. Key, stuck on board a British ship while negotiating a captured friend’s release, was no doubt horrified as America took a beating through the night, but that horror was displaced by hope the next morning when he was able to see that “our flag was still there.” All thanks to brave and honorable defenders of America who refused to give up the fight throughout the night.
Although sometimes hope may seem to hang precariously, we rarely need to endure absolute darkness. There’s a brilliant light on the horizon and, like so many times in America before, that light of honor is rising. As Martin Luther King Jr. put it, “Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” We must always keep our eye on that light on the horizon and err on the side of optimism, but we also must back that up with action. Ronald Reagan famously noted that losing freedom is never more than a generation away, so we must remain ever vigilant.
I always count myself lucky to be a Utahn, but I feel especially fortunate in July because we get twice the opportunity as the rest of the nation, when it comes to celebrating major civic holidays. First, as happened last week, we get to celebrate the inspired founding of our uniquely special country by imperfect men who strived for a more perfect Union. Second, in 11 days, we’ll have the opportunity to commemorate the founding of our wonderful state, as the official crossroads of the American West. As we celebrate this year, let us take time to truly honor those who have sacrificed so much for our country, often giving, as Abraham Lincoln put it, “the last full measure of devotion.” I pray the honor they pledged and the sacrifice they made will not be in vain, nor forgotten.
Original source can be found here.
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