American Press

It is a sad commentary on the times in which we live that so many of our long held traditions and history are under assault by modern day political activists besmirching our founding fathers and mothers.

A recent case in point is the Nike corporation pulling one of its shoe lines off the market because of a complaint by one of its paid spokesmen, Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick advised the shoe in question offended him because it had a design associated with the “Betsy Ross Flag,” which he claims is associated with slavery. The corporate shoe giant immediately complied and pulled the shoes off the market.

This hasty action has not only besmirched the name of one of America’s “Founding Mothers,” but has advanced the ongoing smear campaign by such political activists as Kaepernick, into the realm of not only our founding generation, but the very principles on which this nation was founded.

All versions of the U.S. flag represent the very best that America has always stood for — “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Many men and women have died and sacrificed in defense of the flag and the principles it represents.

Yes, slavery continued for over 80 years after this nation was founded. But it was under the folds of “Old Glory” that slavery was abolished for good in this nation at the cost of over 620,000 lives in the Civil War.

And Betsy Ross deserves to be remembered with respect and honored as one of the “Founding Mothers” of this nation.

Some historians question the story about Betsy Ross making the first U.S. flag because it is based on the oral history of her family.

Nevertheless, she was an upholsterer and seamstress in Philadelphia at the time; her husband, John Ross, was the nephew of George Ross Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence; she was a known flagmaker at the time; and she mended uniforms for the Continental Army, including sewing buttons on George Washington’s coat.

In addition, she and her husband attended the same church in Philadelphia as Washington, Christ’s Church, and sat in the pew adjacent to Washington’s.

While the political activists can besmirch and smear our founding fathers and mothers for their own 21st Century political agenda, it doesn’t change the facts of history that this nation was founded on good and honorable principles that need to be honored, respected and defended.

The original Betsy Ross story can be found at http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/more/canby.htm.Betsy Ross Flag – Revolutionary WarPublic Domain