One hundred and fifty-six years before the American flag was adopted by the Continental Congress, The Pilgrims celebrated their first harvest with a feast. Of the 110 original colonists that landed in Plymouth Harbor a year earlier, in November of 1620, more than half did not survive the first winter. A passage believed to have been written by Edward Winslow, one of the colonists, describes the feast:
"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, Many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest King Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
These were people who were willing to risk it all for the chance to create a better way of life for themselves and future generations and in the process, endured hardships that we today can hardly imagine. Yet, when the opportunity eventually arose to give up and return to England, not a single one left.
Today, we face a myriad of problems that have divided our country, yet we all have a lot in common. Of the many things I’m grateful for, one is that I had the good fortune to be born in the United States of America.
There are many people from all around the world today who are willing to leave everything behind and risk it all to come here. Why? Because, from the humble beginnings of the first colonies, America has grown to become the greatest example of freedom and opportunity the world has ever known.
We have something special that much of the rest of the world wants and we have to be willing to share it with them. As much as some people would like to return to an earlier time, it just can’t be done. Things change, the world has changed, and history marches on with or without you.
Some of us want to return to an isolationist policy, but in a world that is connected in so many ways that were barely imagined just a generation ago, it would be impossible to ignore a world that is waking up to the possibilities of real freedom and knocking on our door. Yes, we need to find a way to secure our borders to provide security against terrorism, but we also need to be ready to share with all those who come here in search of freedom and opportunity.
Flags can be powerful symbols and the American flag is perhaps the most powerful of them all. So it’s my hope that all Americans will recognize that the American flag represents the great things we have in common – freedom, opportunity and compassion.