‘One nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all’

In the U.S., we as individuals trace our roots back to every nation on the globe. We are from everywhere, and are bound together by our love of this country and the rights and responsibilities bestowed on citizens here.

And though our families came here at different times and from different nations, we all swell with pride at the strains of the same national anthem and swell with pride when we place hand over heart to pledge allegiance to the stars and stripes and to the nation it represents.

On their own, these rituals ring hollow. But we must teach their meanings to the generations that follow if we want future citizens to share in our sense of humble gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy, and to understand that these gifts were bought and paid for with the sacrificed lives of soldiers.

Today is Flag Day. It’s the first of several national and state holidays with roots to our state and national history. While some states had celebrated Flag Day — the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 — for decades prior, a proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson on May 30, 1916 officially established Flag Day. But the day wasn’t a national holiday until Aug. 3, 1949, when President Harry S. Truman signed an act designating June 14 of each year as Flag Day.

If you own a flag, we encourage you to display it with honor at your home or work place. We encourage you to use the flag as a conversation starter to share with others what the flag means to you.

Did you — or your ancestors — fight to preserve and protect the country it represents? Were your ancestors welcomed to U.S. shores by the red, white and blue at Stanton Island? What’s your personal connection to the flag?

Sharing our stories in personal conversations with our children and each other is the best way we know to be sure that the patriotism that brings us to our feet, bares our heads and places a hand over our hearts is not lost with the passage of time.

In state history, June 30 is an important day for Alaska and its flag. Leave your flag up this month to mark the anniversary of the day in 1958 when the U.S. Senate passed the Alaska Statehood Bill, cementing our admission into the Union.

Next up is July Fourth, a perfect opportunity to continue the discussion with friends and family about our nation and its symbols — such as the flag — that signify to the world rights and responsibilities we share equally.

We celebrate Alaska Flag Day five days later on July 9 when we honor flag designer Benny Benson and mark the day the flag he designed was flown over the Jesse Lee Home in Seward. Benson lived at the children’s home when he designed the iconic Alaska flag with its eight stars of gold on a field of blue.

There is much that divides us a community, state and nation. But holidays such as Flag Day and the Fourth of July are a time of unity, a time to focus on the things that unite us as “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”