CONNER COSTA Erin Tierney/The Creswell Chronicle
Editor’s Note: Conner Costa, eighth grader at Lincoln Middle School in Cottage Grove, recently won the local VFW Patriot’s Pen contest, after writing this winning essay on why he honors the American flag. Costa read his speech at the VFW potluck dinner on Friday, Dec. 7 at the Creswell VFW Hall, where local contest winners were recognized, and the Attack on Pearl Harbor was remembered.
The American flag stands for everything to me. It represents our country as a whole. It represents veterans who fought alongside the flag, families who grew up in this country and even the people who just came to America. The American flag is everything that represents America. The flag represents our country as a whole. America may not be perfect; we’ve done some bad things, but in some countries women can’t vote, drive or even go to school. The United States allows freedom and rights – not a monarchy but a fair and equal government.
I honor the flag to show patriotism to my country: to remember our history and to accept new beginnings and traditions. Americans have stood for the U.S. flag since 1777. ”We don’t honor the flag to please ourselves, but to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom,” said Jane Cook, and I agree with that. Over 1.2 million Americans have died in war; we salute the flag to remember and honor them.
The American Flag is a representation of American soldiers and their dedication to their country. Soldiers died holding that flag. They would rather die before letting the flag touch the ground. They were determined to represent their country no matter the cost. The flag represents our country as a whole. America may not have been perfect, but we are working on making equal rights for all and making a better country.
Most of all, I honor the American flag to move past our mistakes and onto a new and better future, where there is no war and America is a peaceful place for everyone. I hope that one day that is possible everywhere.
”I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”