All of my life I have found myself involved in events that were known as traditions. For example, when there is a covered dish meal at the church somebody is going to bring fried chicken. You can’t find a time when the church in a business meeting voted that having fried chicken at a church covered dish meeting was required but you would always find fried chicken at the meal.

It would be hard to exactly pinpoint when I was introduced to the tradition of pledging allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. I know that when I first started in public school, each day we started with a Pledge of Allegiance, a Bible reading by the teacher, and a prayer. By the time I was in the fourth grade, the line, “One nation under God,” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance.

After all of these years of joining the repeating of the pledge it does not matter to me that it is a law requiring the Pledge of Allegiance to be recited at the opening of any and all gatherings of citizens. The Pledge of Allegiance is “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.” Most of the time as I repeat the pledge, it brings a lump to my throat because of the love and respect I have for our nation and for those who continue to make it great.

Long ago, the prayer and Bible reading by the teacher was thrown away and in many classrooms today there is the cheap substitute of a moment of silence rather than the ringing of voices all in chorus pledging allegiance to the American flag.

Another tradition I was introduced to as an adult when attending a military funeral was that of folding the flag and presenting it to the family of the deceased. It matters little should this be a law or just a tradition but there is no doubt in my mind that this practice needs to continue.

Here we are in 2008, finding ourselves fighting the battle to continue the ceremony of the folding of the flag with all that it means and presenting it to the bereaved family. The first two folds remind us of the symbol of life and belief in eternal life. The third and fourth folds are made to honor the veterans who have departed our ranks and given their lives for the defense of the country.

The fourth fold continues in its expression of American citizens trusting God. The fifth and sixth folds give tribute to our country and allow us to express where our hearts lie. The seventh time the flag is folded, it is a tribute to the armed forces. The next fold is a tribute to motherhood. Likewise, the ninth and tenth folds pay tribute to womanhood and to fathers. In the eyes of Hebrew citizens, the next fold glorifies in their eyes the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The twelfth fold represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Once the flag has been folded, the stars are uppermost as the flag is presented to the family with a reminder of our nation’s motto “In God We Trust.”

In the last several years, there have been increased numbers of our citizens who want to belittle what our military does. We have continued to see a rise in loyalty to those persons who are disloyal to our nation and attempts to remove the fingerprints of the patriots that we have long looked to as examples of those things we express in our Pledge of Allegiance.

While for some people a law may be required for this patriot, I am going to continue with enthusiasm and a spirit of honor expressed to our military men and women and to the families who wait back home for a word concerning their loved ones. While it might seem to be trite and out of place, I have no hesitation to express my feelings for this nation when I say, ”In God We Trust.”

I am going to continue to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and continue to hold the greatest amount of respect and honor for those men and women who are willing to fight and die for our nation.