Gratitude for the Practice of Freedom
Flag Day in the United States honors the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the national flag, a symbol stitched into the fabric of our history, our ideals, and our identity. On this day, we see flags unfurling on porches, flying above city halls, printed on t-shirts and cupcakes and banners. And yet, this year, more than most, the celebration feels layered.
How do we honor a symbol of freedom when freedom itself feels so fragile?
How do we speak of liberty when its reach still does not extend to all?
The answer, for me, is to hold both the ideal and the reality in the same breath… and to choose gratitude not for perfection but for the power and responsibility we have to participate in the ongoing practice of freedom.
Freedom as a Practice, Not a Given
Freedom is not static. It is not a gift handed down from the past, preserved in glass cases or engraved on plaques. It is alive, dynamic. It is something we shape, protect, challenge, and renew with each generation.
And like all living things, it needs tending.
Today, it can feel as though the very soil freedom was planted in is shifting. Laws are changing, rights are threatened, and the once-clear line between truth and fiction is being blurred by those who seek power over progress. But even in this mess, especially in this mess, we are reminded that freedom was never meant to be passive. It is something we must actively uphold every single day.
We honor the flag not because we believe our country is flawless but because we still believe in the promise of what it can be. We honor the flag when we show up, speak out, stand firm, and open our arms to others whose freedoms are at risk.
Gratitude with Eyes Wide Open
My gratitude today is not sentimental. It’s not blind. It’s clear-eyed and fierce.
I’m grateful to live in a country where I can raise my voice, and I’m painfully aware that many are trying to take that right away from others. I’m grateful for the people, past and present, who fought to expand freedom to include women, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, and others long left out of the American dream. And I’m grateful for the activists, voters, truth-tellers, and community builders still doing that work today.
Freedom without responsibility is just privilege.
Freedom without inclusion is just illusion.
So on this Flag Day, I choose gratitude for the practice of freedom — one rooted in equity, empathy, and effort.
Carrying the Flag Forward
The flag can be many things: a banner, a symbol, a memory, a contradiction. But perhaps most powerfully, it is an invitation. An invitation to do better, to reach farther, to live more fully into our shared ideals.
I think of all those who never gave up on this country — even when it gave up on them. I think of those whose voices were silenced, but whose courage echoes still. I think of the dreamers, the dissenters, the bridge-builders. They, too, carried this flag.
And now it’s our turn.
Not to wave it blindly, but to carry it with care.
Not to defend it as a symbol of perfection, but to use it as a compass toward possibility.
So I raise this flag today with gratitude. Not for what we were, but for what we can still become — if we do the work. Together.