The following item may be used for an opening flag ceremony for troop meetings, courts of honor, PTA meetings, or any flag ceremony where it would be appropriate. It is a modification of John Wayne's "Face the Flag My Son".

FACE THE FLAG

Face the flag of stars and bars
Of red and white and blue.
A flag that guarantees the rights
For a people like me and you.

Face the flag friends, read what's written there;
The history, the progress, the heritage we share.
Our flag reflects the past, but stands for so much more,
And in this age of Aquarius, it still flies in the fore.

It leads the forward movement, shared by all mankind;
To learn, to love, to live with peace of mind,
To learn the mysteries of space as well as those of Earth,
To love each person for what they are regardless of birth,

To live without the fear of reprisal for belief,
To ease the tensions of a world that cries out for relief.
Face the flag of stars and bars
Of red and white and blue.

A flag that guarantees the rights
For a people like me and you.
Face the flag friends, take a good long look,
What you see now can't be found in a history book.

It's the present, the future friends, its being written now,
And you're the ones to write it, and the flag can show you how.
Do you know what it stands for? What its makers meant?
To think, to speak, the privilege of dissent,

To think our leaders might be wrong, to stand and tell them so,
These are the things that people under other flags will never know.
But, responsibility, that's the cross that freemen must bear.
If you don't accept that, then freedom isn't there.

(chorus)
Face the flag of stars and bars
Of red and white and blue.
A flag that guarantees the rights

For a people like me and you.
Face the flag friends and face reality.
Our strength and our freedoms are based in unity.
The flag is but a symbol friends, of the world's greatest nation.

So do what "you got to do", but always keep in mind
A lot of people believe in peace, but there are the other kind.
If we want to keep the freedoms we may have to fight again,
God forbid. But, if we do, let's always fight to win.

The fate of a loser is futile, it's bare;
No love, no peace, just misery, despair.
Face the flag friends and thank God it's still there.