Yesterday, on Flag Day 2025, I stood among my neighbors and community members, many with silver hair and weathered hands, holding signs and raising our voices in peaceful protest. Some might wonder why we were there, these older adults who have seen decades of change, who have already lived through movements and fought battles that shaped this nation. The answer is simple: true patriotism demands that we never stop standing up for the values that make America worthy of our devotion.

I came of age in the 1950s, when America felt invincible and the future seemed limitless. We believed in our institutions, trusted our leaders, and felt genuine pride in our flag. But even then, beneath the surface prosperity and optimism, injustices festered. As I grew older, I learned that loving your country sometimes means challenging it to live up to its highest ideals.

Awakening of Civic Responsibility

The first time I truly understood this was during the Civil Rights era. My mother and I watched in horror as Black Americans—my fellow citizens—were denied basic human dignity, barred from schools, restaurants, and voting booths. The values of my family – equality, respect, and valuing the contributions of others, were being maligned.  In response, my mother marched, and so I marched with her. My mother protested, so I protested, too.

We stood with those who demanded that our nation honor its promise that all men are created equal. This wasn’t an act of rebellion against America—it was an act of faith in what America could become.  It was also my training ground for today.

Responding to Vietnam

When the Vietnam War escalated and my relatives and classmates were sent to die in a conflict that seemed to contradict everything we claimed to stand for, I protested again. I watched nightly casualty reports as Walter Cronkite brought home the horrors happening in Vietnam.

Speaking out against that war wasn’t unpatriotic; it was a passionate expression of patriotism and a challenge to those who would willingly continue to sacrifice American lives for unclear objectives. True patriotism sometimes requires saying no to policies that harm our people and betray our values.

Citizen’s Duties

Through all of this, I never stopped voting. Since I turned 21, I have cast my ballot in every election—presidential, midterm, local, and municipal. I have voted for candidates who I believed would serve my community best. To me, voting is more than a right; it is a sacred responsibility. It is how Americans collectively steer this great ship of democracy toward justice and prosperity for all.

But voting alone is not enough. Democracy requires active citizenship, constant vigilance, and the courage to speak truth to power when our leaders lose their way. That’s why I stood in protest today, on Flag Day, surrounded by other Americans who refuse to remain silent while our government overreaches and abandons the values we hold dear.

An Excess of Hubris

The current administration’s excesses—its disregard for democratic norms, its assault on institutions that protect our freedoms, its divisive rhetoric that tears at the fabric of our communities—these are not partisan issues. They are American issues. They threaten the very foundations of the republic we have spent our lives defending and improving.

I protest because I believe in the America I was raised to love: a nation that respects the dignity of every person, that upholds the rule of law, that serves as a beacon of hope for those seeking freedom and opportunity.

I protest because I believe in community—the radical idea that we are all connected, that we have obligations to one another, that we must lift up the vulnerable and welcome those who seek to join us in the American experiment.

Principles Not Politics

This is not about politics; it is about principles. It is about the responsibility each citizen bears to preserve and protect the values that make America great. When government officials abuse their power, when they use their positions to enrich themselves rather than serve the people, when they sow division instead of unity, we must speak out. Silence in the face of such failures is not patriotism—it is complicity.

Legacy

The flag I held high today is the same flag carried in the past by other citizens when civil rights marchers were beaten for demanding equal treatment. It is the same flag that draped the coffins of soldiers who died in Vietnam and in every conflict since. It is the same flag that has witnessed America’s greatest triumphs and most shameful failures. That flag does not represent any single administration or political party—it represents the ongoing struggle to fulfill America’s promise of liberty and justice for all.

As I age, I feel more urgently the weight of my civic responsibility. I have seen how quickly democracy can be eroded when good people remain silent. I have witnessed the power of collective action to change unjust laws and challenge corrupt leaders. I know that the freedoms we enjoy today exist because previous generations refused to accept the status quo when it failed to live up to our highest ideals.

My Fellow Americans . . .

To my fellow Americans, especially those who share my years and my memories: we cannot afford to be complacent. The America we love may be flawed at present, but it is not a finished product—it is a work in progress, and that work requires something from all of us. We must continue to vote, to speak out, to protest when necessary, and to hold our leaders accountable to the values we cherish.

Standing in protest yesterday was not an act of defiance but an act of faith—faith that America can still be the nation I dreamed it could be when I was young. That dream is worth fighting for, no matter how old I get.