Evening star., 1961-06-11
SPIRES OF THE SPIRIT
A Salute to the FIuq
By DIR. FREDERICK BROWN HARRIS, DID.
Chaplain Of the United States Senate

Between Memorial Day and
the Glorious Fourth" away
from the shouting and tu-
multi Of national holidays,
which are far from holy days,
it may be well in the quiet
days Of leafy June to salute
the flag.
The family of an air pilot,
who was killed in aerial COM
bat, was saluting the flag
when in the death notice,
published in his home town
paper, was printed just the
pilots name, the date of his
supreme sacrifice, and then
this eloquent sentence-"He
gave his life for a grand
country"
AS we unfurl the Star
Spangled Banner and honor
the valiant who gave their
lives to preserve it, we exult
in the fact that it is a grand
country in spite of its inequal-
tiles and imperfections, its
blots and its blemishes. But
in all our rhapsody about the
flag we dare not forget that
in this crucial day, at the
beginning of this decade of
destiny, our America is pro-
ducing armies Of criminals,
largely Of youth, who go out
mostly from undisciplined
homes. We cannot be oblivi-
GUS to the moral stencil Of
newsstands loaded with lewd,
sex drenched publications
communicating our youth. We
cannot close our eyes to the
fact that we spend Is times
as much for gambling, liquor,
and narcotics as we do for all
religious and humanitarian
causes combined.
Even as with pride we sa-
lutte the flag we dare not
ignore the one great weak
ness Of America-and that
can be spelled out in one word
-"materialism" which, in
simple terms, means that ours
is largely a money-minded
society. We have lately been
shocked to realize that the
virus Of materialism has even
affected the life and death
program Of national defense
in our missile bases. The sad
fact facing a secular society
like ours is that often we have
nothing to promise except
more gadgets and an even
higher standard Of living.
AS we salute the flag we
know, Of course, that the de-
fects and betrayals in the
America Of today are being
viewed, from outside our
borders, through the red glass
Of hatred and the green glass
of Jealousy.
Anything which tends to
weaken confidence in our
flag strengthens aggressive
tyranny. II Uncle Sam, like
Cromwell, has a wart on his
countenance, that is all that
many critics see.
When we salute the flag we
think not simply Of Americas
defects. The very essence of
democracy is that the wheat
and the tares must go to-
gether, but the tareS are less
ening and the wheat increas-
ing. America is the greatest
pool Of self idealism on the
planet. We can proudly pro-
claim that scrupulously she
has kept her solemn pledge
as set forth in the charter Of
the U. N. while the Soviet bloc
has used that forum, which
could be the worlds great
hope Of peace and plenty,
only as a propaganda plat
form to sabotage the organi-
zation'S very foundations.
The Manchester Guardian
that great English news
paper - was saluting the
American Flag when in an
editorial it declared: 1.-The
United States has done more
than any other country to
guarantee peace in the world,
more than any other country
in the world it has helped
others to secure their pros
perity and welfare" And
then it added: "The broad
soundness, honesty of pur-
pose and worth Of the role
America has been playing in