At the beginning, our government was flawed--there were things to be ironed out, holes to be patched, and gaps to be filled. But our government was inimitable--we were creating history.

We weren’t strong. We were small. Everyday was a raid of battalion after battalion, and no matter how much we believed in ourselves, a terrifying thought rooted, reminding us that there was a chance we wouldn’t see the light of day.

In the plainest sense, the United States flag represents opportunity. Because at the start, that’s what we were looking for.

An opportunity? No. The opportunity. We had one shot--and we could have thrown it away, we could have ceased as an idea. The risks could have been ruinous--there were people like Hercules Mulligan and Marquis de Lafayette, both had spied on the British during the American Revolution.

We were a rag-tag army looking for the opportunity. And even with the pitfalls, the drawbacks, and the hurricanes of politics, our deliverance was the flag. The flag that represented our strength, our courage, and our fight.

Throughout the years, we’ve had polemicists and leaders--but none have spoken as with such defiance, as our flag does as it’s being raised. Years will go by, wars will be fought, and our lives will change--but the meaning of the flag? That will never change. It will always ring out opportunity.