You know me. I am the flag, symbol, and soul of America, and I’ve been beloved by America’s Patriots for two-and-one-half-centuries. But you can’t understand what makes me unique and different from all other flags unless you take the time to look much more closely at me. To really know me, you’ll need to look beyond the brightly colored red, white, and blue threads woven into a rectangular piece of fabric, because I’m much more than that. I’m the living, breathing embodiment of everything that America believes in and stands for. But that part of me might not be readily apparent unless you are willing to see me differently – with your heart, your mind, and even your soul!

Just like you are more than what people see when they first meet you, or what you see when you look at yourself in the mirror, flags, like people, are much more than they appear to be on the surface. We both have a “back-story,” our own personal story that as our own author, we write every day that we live. These stories are not just interesting, they tell others about who we are deep down inside of us. It’s only when we take the time to truly listen to those stories that we will understand who others are, how they think, their life experiences, and why they act as they do. It’s the same for flags.

But up until now, I haven’t had the opportunity to share my real story. That’s why I’m so excited to be invited to give you a glimpse of who I really am in the “Flags of Freedom Trilogy!” I want you to get to know me better and to understand my life story and the people, places, and events that I’ve witnessed taking place below and around me as I fly high above the beautiful land that we call America. The stories about me that you’ve probably read about in your American history class, only tell a small part of my whole story. They are like the beats of my heart, simply marking moments in time, but they are not my heart itself. To really get to know and understand me and my life story, you’ll need to take the time to stop and examine me up close and personal if you want to see what I’ve seen, hear what I’ve heard, and know what I learned over my 250-years of service to my country.

The things that I’ve seen, the people that I’ve met, the places that I’ve visited, and the many events of history that I’ve experienced, together have helped to create the remarkable story of my life as your flag and national symbol of Freedom. But my story is about more than just my life. It’s also about the life the country you love. I want to share both fascinating stories with you, because only then will you understand where I—and we, as American citizens and as a nation—are going in the future. But to do so, you must first understand where I’ve been, what I’ve done, and why my story is so important for every American citizen to know. This is especially true for today’s young Americans who, I’m sad to say, are less informed about my story and America’s story, than they were in 1994, with only 13% of eighth-grade students merely testing “proficient” in US history.

I am the “Stars & Stripes,” the symbol of my country and the symbol of freedom around the world. And in the first book of the Flags of Freedom Trilogy-“Flags of Freedom-The Quest for Freedom“-you’ll hear me tell my story first-hand. You’ll also hear the epic adventure story of the history of the great nation that I represent—America—and of the people, places, events, ideas, ideals, aspirations, principles, and values that changed the entire world for the better.

So, come along with me on a journey back through history to a time before I first became a physical entity—a flag, to a time when I was just a revolutionary idea about human freedom and the power of citizenship in one Athenian’s brilliant mind. His ideas about Democracy and Citizen Self-Government, although created two continents away, and some two-and-one-half-millennia before the “New World” would even be discovered, would be reinvented by America’s Founding Fathers to create a new, free, and independent democratic nation—The United States of America!

So, are you ready to jump in my “Way-Back” machine and travel back in time? Great!

Let’s Roll!

Get this patriotic quote by author Walter Franklin Davis by supporting the author’s upcoming Kickstarter Fundraiser for Flags of Freedom-The Quest for Freedom” at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wfd/the-flags-of-freedom-trilogy