Post Messenger Recorder -

Dear Editor,

Job well done for all those involved in orchestrating the Homecoming parade in New Glarus. We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather that day!

To be able to observe people gathering, smiling, socializing, meeting up with old friends/making new friends, watching kids anxiously anticipate all the parade has to offer - was really beautiful. Such a simple tradition as a parade can bring people such delight…

What totally surprised me that day was how many able-bodied people failed to stand up when our American flag passed by. Perhaps it should not have been a surprise but to me this is not a tradition/liberty that we should forgo. Have we desensitized ourselves to the point where we have forgotten what the flag stands for? If we have forgotten why we stand for the flag – look it up, ask a Veteran or look around this beautiful world of ours (especially now in these times of unrest).

We stand for our flag not to please ourselves but to honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We stand for our flag not to focus on what divides us but for what unites us, which is being an American. We stand for our flag not for our generation but to set an example for the next generation.

For those and for so many other reasons - please stand for our Flag.

Rilla French,

New Glarus