I'm proud of the United States flag.

 My dad was in the US Army, 1st Cavalry Division. He took two flags very seriously - the United States flag and the POW-MIA flag. He displayed them at home, on his motorcycle, on his riding jacket. When he passed in 2008, I received his funerary flag. 

My husband Nate had the honor of working with service members and their families at Emerson College in their Student Success office. He knew each student personally and sought to understand the unique challenges they faced. Along with a few other staff members, he educated "traditional college students" (18-24, straight from high school), faculty, and staff on what those who served & their families experienced and needed to succeed. He advocated for more Yellow Ribbon funding, which closed the gap between GI Bill and the Emerson price tag. While he worked there, Emerson became #4 regional college in the north for veterans.

Those aren't my stories, but they shape mine. They are part of what has made me feel viscerally the meaning of our nation's flag and what that nation strives to be.

When we closed on our new home earlier this month, one of the first things that I did was replace the existing flag. It was battered, and that didn't sit well with me. It's safely in a drawer, waiting to be retired properly.

For the last month, until I got a solar spotlight, I've insisted on leaving the front lights on because the flag shouldn't hang in darkness.

I've taken the flag in when it's raining, because it isn't supposed to be subject to weather damage. I've shown the boys how to make sure it doesn't touch the ground when you do.

The flag should be honored. It carries the weight of our highest ideals. One of those ideals is a "big tent" where all are welcome, including and perhaps especially the beleaguered. Those left behind and left out.

Emma Lazarus wrote a poem to raise money to build the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty, speaking to the figure's extension of a worldwide welcome thus:

"A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame//

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name//

Mother of Exiles."

Flying any flag below the US flag does not detract from its inherent beauty, power, and symbolism. It communicates that the US flag belongs to the other flag's community too. It demonstrates our belief that Lady Liberty's light reaches the vulnerable, gathering them safely amongst her skirts. The Mother of Exiles.

Respectfully,

Jenna Magnuski

Little Compton