Labor Day & Operation Old Glory

Labor Day is indeed a day of labor for a US Senate campaign! We started out the morning at the AFL-CIO breakfast in Manchester, where we spoke with several members of local unions and said hello to Governor Lynch and Senator Chris Dodd. We had to leave just before the festivities began due to a prior commitment to Operation Old Glory.

OOG is a wonderful story of four patriotic women who saw a need and came together to address it. Their mission was to ensure that a flag was flying in every single public school classroom in the state - a project that required more than 4,000 flags! Undaunted, they reached out to the American Legion, which partnered with them to purchase and distribute flags around the state. Presidential candidate Governor Mitt Romney spoke, and representatives from the Clinton, Obama, and McCain campaigns sent representatives. Additionally, Melissa Ogle, Senator Sununu's Community Liaison, presented a flag that had been flown above the US Capitol to the four women who worked so hard on this project. The event took place in Representative's Hall in the State House and was a great success. It concluded, quite appropriately, with apple pie and ice cream - thanks to The Pie Guy from Nashua.

After the event in Concord, we marched in the Milford Parade along with Barack Obama, Chris Dodd, Paul and Peggo Hodes and many other political "rock stars." We walked right behind the enthusiastic Obama group, who kept things upbeat with their own marching band (Yankee Doodle, You're A Grand Old Flag, and many more classics) and chants: "Be a part of something great - Obama 08!" Jay shook hands with several hundred people along the parade route. We really had a great time.

Following the parade festivities, Jay addressed the Amherst Democrats at their first annual Labor Day Barbecue at the picturesque Amherst Country Club. The day concluded where it began - in Manchester, with the City Democrats headed up by Chris Pappas, a very effective organizer. A highlight for me was getting to speak French, my native tongue, with Russell from the Stop Sununu campaign and Michel from the Hillary campaign. Have to love Manchester!

Below are Jay's remarks from Operation Old Glory, a reflection on the meaning of the flag to him... The photo is NASA Photo ID AS11-40-5875

I want to thank Caroline, Marisa, Heidi, and Becky for inviting me here today, and for organizing this great effort. These classroom flags will be important to kids throughout New Hampshire.

But I have to confess that, when I was a kid, the flag that had the greatest impact on me wasn’t red, white, and blue… It was black and white. And it was pretty small, too. About this size.

I saw it back in the summer of 1969. As many of you may remember, this was a tough time for Americans. There were tremendous racial tensions throughout the country, mounting casualties in Vietnam, and fierce debates about the war.

On July 20, 1969, my parents, my sister and I were all sitting in front of our Magnavox t.v. We watched as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took the first steps on the moon and planted the American flag in the Sea of Tranquility. Since our t.v. was black and white, the flag’s image was only black and white, too.

But that black and white flag was an inspiring symbol. I realized how lucky I was to be part of a country where people could successfully land a man on the moon.

Even more important, the flag reminded me – and millions of others – that whatever our race… or our religion… whether we were liberals or conservatives, anti-war or pro-war, we were all Americans.

The flag has been an important symbol to me throughout my life. Twenty-nine years after the historic moon landing, I was proud to wear the American flag on my launch/entry suit when our crew flew aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.

To me, the flag symbolized that our spaceflight was a team effort – made possible by our country’s scientific and technological achievements -- and by thousands of Americans working together for a common goal.

When I was in the Air Force reserve, our unit’s flags symbolized our military strength, and the willingness of Americans to defend the freedoms we cherish.

Back when I was an assistant scoutmaster with Troop 45—and I am very pleased to see Troop 45 here today—we all had American flags on our shirts. And there the flag symbolized the love of country that scouting encourages.

But as I was preparing for this event, I wondered – what will the flag symbolize to all the students in New Hampshire classrooms today? When the kids are sitting at their desks, and they look up at that red, white and blue banner – what will they see?

I hope the students will understand that our flag represents America’s love of country, our willingness to defend our freedoms, and our pride in our country’s achievements.

But most of all, I hope they know the power of the ideas that formed this country. The fifty stars and thirteen stripes all sewn together represent the United States.

As the first line of the Constitution says, “We the people of the United States in order to form a more perfect Union.”

I hope the students understand that “We the People” includes all Americans – regardless of what we look like, our religious faith, or how much money we have in our wallets.

We are a diverse country, but what the Constitution lays out is how to form unity from our diversity. This doesn’t mean that we’ll agree on everything. But it does mean that we’ll agree to treat each other with respect and follow the Constitution.

Our system of government has been working pretty well for over 200 years. That’s because each generation has shown the next what our flag stands for. And our hope is that these classroom flags will help to educate future generations.

So when kids look up and see the flag, they won’t just see a piece of cloth -- they’ll understand the power behind that flag: The power of the ideas that formed this country… the power of the sacrifice others have made… the power we have when we work together… and the power of liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.