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These five flags prove the importance of celebrating Flag Day

June 14, 2024
Photo 12 / Contributor | Getty Images
Zane Johnsen

On this day 247 years ago, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution of 1777 making the "Stars and Stripes" the official flag of the United States of America.

Symbols are a vital part of the identity of a nation. They speak of the values and origins of the country, where they are going, and where they have been. They serve as a benchmark by which to measure the condition of the present society—are we closer to being the people our forefathers imagined all those years ago? They tell a story of the struggles and hardships of the men who first bore those symbols and what they stood to protect.

This Flag Day, we are taking the opportunity to reflect upon the rich history and symbolism of American Flags and the conflicts that shaped them. From the earliest colonial rebellions to modern military operations, here are five flags that symbolize America:

Pine Tree Flag

Encyclopaedia Britannica / Contributor | Getty Images

Despite the media's claims, this flag is not a Christian Nationalist banner, nor a banner of any other extremist group. The origin of this flag well predates any of those modern groups as it was first created during the Revolutionary War.

The flag comprises two items: the pine tree and the text, "An Appeal to Heaven." The pine tree has long been a symbol of New England, even before Europeans landed in North America. The pine tree was an important symbol of peace to the Native tribes of New England after a great war between five tribes ended with the members settling their differences and burying each other's weapons under a pine tree. After the Europeans arrived, the pine tree remained significant. A large part of colonial New England's economy was based on shipbuilding using the tall pine trees local to the area.

The other portion of the flag, the text that reads "An Appeal to Heaven," is a quote from the English philosopher John Locke's famous book, The Second Treatise of Civil Government. In this particular passage the quote is referring to, Locke outlined the right of people to revolt against a tyrannical government. Locke argued that once you have exhausted your ability to appeal your grievances through the available government channels, you can make an appeal to heaven and throw off the shackles of tyranny through a revolution. As you can imagine, this particular passage was critical to the philosophical justification for the American Revolution.

Francis Hopkinson Flag

Encyclopaedia Britannica / Contributor | Getty Images

Everyone knows the tale of Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress who was presented—by none other than George Washington himself—with a sketch of the flag that would come to represent the fledgling nation. After convincing Washington to reduce the points on the stars from six to five, Ross got to work sewing the first stars and stripes together. Before long, she was presenting George Washington with the first American flag with its iconic ring of stars.

Unfortunately, that story is more legend than fact. Betsy Ross did exist. She was a seamstress from Philadelphia, and she most likely did make some of the first American flags. But did she collaborate with George Washington to create the very first American flag? Not likely. Modern historians now tend to credit a man named Francis Hopkinson.

Francis Hopkinson, like many of our founding fathers, was a very interesting man. Along with serving as one of New Jersey's first congressmen, Hopkinson signed the Declaration of Independence and was a lawyer, poet, musician, and artist. It was his skill as an artist that led to him to design the flag. However, the journals of the Continental Congress suggest that he was not the only person consulted during the process. While it is unclear who these other people were (perhaps it was Besty Ross), it is known that Hopkinson would be credited with the creation of other important symbols and devices, including the Great Seal of the United States of America.

Fort Sumter Flag

In April of 1861, the nation split itself in two. The attack on Fort Sumpter in South Carolina marked the beginning of the Civil War, and for many people, it must have felt like the end of the republic. This flag, bearing 33 stars for the 33 states, flew above Fort Sumpter during the assault and was lowered when the fort was surrendered to Confederate forces. After the battle, President Lincoln had a decision that no president before or since has been faced with: would he keep the flag as it was or would he remove the stars that represented the states that had seceded?

Lincoln's mission was to preserve the union—to reform what had been broken—so he decided to keep the stars on the flag. This flag, with all 33 of its stars, came to represent what the Union troops were fighting for. They were defending the Union for which the flag had become the sacred symbol. As such, the flag was imbued with the religious and moral values that were violently clashing along the Mason-Dixon line. For many, the flag represented the abolition of slavery, and for many newly freed black Americans, the flag represented a brighter future and an opportunity to participate in the American Dream.

When the Stars and Stripes were once again flown over Fort Sumpter in February of 1865, just two months before the end of the Civil War, all 33 stars were present—plus two more to represent the new states that had joined the union during the war. While it would take decades for the wounds of the Civil War to heal, President Lincoln was successful in his mission to reunite America.

D-Day Flag

D-Day was the largest amphibious invasion in military history with over 156,000 Allied troops deployed to liberate Europe from the Nazi regime. America bore a significant portion of the burden, with sending 75,000 of the total 156,000 Allied troops. Moreover, most landing craft and support vehicles were manufactured in the United States. It was aboard one such landing craft, the L.S.T. 493, that the flag above was carried into the chaos. The L.S.T. 493 was one of the largest vessels to make an appearance in Normandy, and it was tasked with running supplies to the different beachheads along the coastline, which it did from June 6th, 1944 (D-Day) until the Battle of Normady's completion at the end of August 1944.

Despite being manufactured by the U.S. and carrying an American flag, L.S.T. 493 was operated by the British during the Battle of Normandy, which was not an unusual arrangement at the time. The vessel served until April 1945 when it was sent from Portland, UK, to Plymouth, UK, for routine maintenance. During this trek, the ship's navigation lights were turned off as per wartime procedures, and consequently, it was badly damaged by large concrete pyramids installed in the breakwater. These pyramids were called "dragonteeth" and were used as a defense against invasion. The ship was abandoned, and the crew was safely evacuated, but L.S.T. 493 was deemed too damaged to repair and was left behind.

The aforementioned 48-star American Flag was removed well before L.S.T. 493 wrecked and made its journey throughout the years before finding itself in Glenn's collection in the American Journey Experience museum. Glenn had the following to say regarding his acquisition of the flag:

“When I first saw this flag I was overwhelmed with the struggle and the power of the human spirit. While the human experience is itself exceptional, those who deny the will to endure and the willingness free mankind from those who wish to control and oppress miss what makes the average American truly exceptional throughout the world"

America's Flag of Valor

This last flag is a reminder that the fight for freedom is never over. There will always come a time when brave men will be called upon to lay down their lives in the pursuit and preservation of liberty, to fight on behalf of those who can't fight for themselves.

Imagine—it's March 2003, America is still recovering from the horror of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and a group of young men full of courage and determination board a plane in Germany bound for Kuwait City to engage in the initial attack of the Iraqi Freedom Campaign. These Marines, most of whom were fresh out of BootCamp and had never faced battle before, were asked to sign this flag by Flight Attendant Sarah Carruthers.

Susan Irvin, the custodian of this incredible artifact, is working on tracking down the fate of these brave soldiers. One can assume that many of the signees didn't make it back to the United States. The same spirit and determination that motivated our forefathers to fight for liberty were in these men as well, and that spirit still isn't lost amongst us today.

Here are just a few of the notes those brave men wrote a mere couple of days before they engaged in the Iraqi Freedom Campaign:

1. LCPC Christensen 3rd PLT C. Co 1/24
“I’m doing this so my Stars, Stripes and Eagle will fly Forever.”
2. LEPL Wright
“I’m proud to be an American whatever the cost - know I’m There”
3. LEPL (Deputy) Edelski
“For the Love and Safety of my Wife and Family.”
4. PFC Myers Weapons Co 1/24
“Semper Fi ‘Always Faithful’ “
5. LEPL Koshis GP II
“For the Pride and Honor of my Country and the Love of my Family. Semper Fi”
6. Sgt Hamper M.B USMC 1/24 Detroit Mi.
“Not every Man Can fight. We do what we must for our country, I am proud to have the opportunity for Freedom and the American Way of Life.”
7. LEPL B Leain, M.J. C/co 1/24
“So that our Families will live free from fear. God Bless”
8. Don H Stevens Jr. USMC SSP 1/24
“Because I stand on a wall and say nothing is going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch.”
9. SGT Dano, Michael Scout Sniper PLT.
“When you care to send the very best. Send USMC”
10. SSGT Ian M. Perry Scout Sniper Det “C” Co. 1/24 USMC
“Americans Sleep Peaceably at Night knowing that Rough Men Stand By To Do Violence on their Behalf…”
11. Leut Lawson SSP 1/24
“For America.”
12. CPT Valler E. R “C” Co 1/24
“The more we do today the less our children will have to do tomorrow.”
13. LCPL Council SSP/ “C” Co 1/24 USMC
“For God, my Loved Ones & America!! We’ll Fight the Good Fight!!”
14. CPT Povedn R. H.
“For My Family and my Country, Mission Accomplished
15. LCPL D? Kellerman “C” Co 1/24
“HIGHLY MOTIVATED – TRULY DEDICATED… TO GOD… TO THE CORPS… TO OUR COURNTRY… TO MY FAMILY… AND TO OUR FREEDOM! ‘SEMPER FI’ “.
16. LCPL Powers J.M
“WE FIGHT FOR THOSE WHO CAN’T OR WON’T… AND SO OUR CHILDREN WILL NOT NEED TO.”
17. LCPL Safko SSP 1/24
“I don’t know what will happen when I die but I am not gonna find out before my target!”
18. LCPL Christensen
“If they don’t like my Flag they can kiss my American Butt.”
19. LCPL Damon “C” Co. 1/24
“Doing my part every day that I can! Semper Fi”
20. LCPL Cowdry, Nick 1/24 “C” Co.
“Godspeed”
21. LCPL Tong
“Showing my blood for my country! Semper Fi”
22. CPL Kinnick WPNS “C” Co. 1/24
“Death before dishonor.”
23. SGT Jim Shabelski
“Semper Fi Fortune favors the Bold.”
24. Cpt. Don Valdivia “Mr. Clean” USMC Scout Sniper PH. 1/24
“I will defend my country and make the enemy DIE for his.”
25. LCPL Forshee JAV 1/24 WPNSRO
“Mess with the best, Die like the rest. ‘Goonie for life’ “
26. SSGT White Javelin PLT Commander
“Semper Fi! God, Country Corps!
27. Cpl. Deak C ”Co” 1/24
"I am proud to be a marine, But even more proud of that I am an American, that has a choice to be a Marine."
28. HM2 “Doc” MeElfresh
“Serving the Corps, my country & my family.
Giving My Best; For the Best. Semper Fi!
29. CPL Inman E.O.K
“You can run but you’ll only die tired----”
30. CPL Jason Spoelm
“Your friendly neighbor, terrorist killers. LET’S ROLL”
31. SGT Dover, Matthew 1st Scout Sniper PLT
“If it positively has to be Destroyed overnight U.S. Marines.
RUN AND DIE TIRED!”
32. 1stSGT T.J. Pattok Semper FI
“What we do We do for You
33. Cpl Dawson
“What I do, I do for my Family”
34. CPL I Keagle
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” MLK Jr.
35.LCPL Piechawski, Nick
“PEACHES” I’ll be back for my beer”

Special thanks to Susan Irvin for sharing and preserving the story of these brave young men.

The melting pot fails when we stop agreeing to melt

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

Texas now hosts Quran-first academies, Sharia-compliant housing schemes, and rapidly multiplying mosques — all part of a movement building a self-contained society apart from the country around it.

It is time to talk honestly about what is happening inside America’s rapidly growing Muslim communities. In city after city, large pockets of newcomers are choosing to build insulated enclaves rather than enter the broader American culture.

That trend is accelerating, and the longer we ignore it, the harder it becomes to address.

As Texas goes, so goes America. And as America goes, so goes the free world.

America has always welcomed people of every faith and people from every corner of the world, but the deal has never changed: You come here and you join the American family. You are free to honor your traditions, keep your faith, but you must embrace the Constitution as the supreme law of the land. You melt into the shared culture that allows all of us to live side by side.

Across the country, this bargain is being rejected by Islamist communities that insist on building a parallel society with its own rules, its own boundaries, and its own vision for how life should be lived.

Texas illustrates the trend. The state now has roughly 330 mosques. At least 48 of them were built in just the last 24 months. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex alone has around 200 Islamic centers. Houston has another hundred or so. Many of these communities have no interest in blending into American life.

This is not the same as past waves of immigration. Irish, Italian, Korean, Mexican, and every other group arrived with pride in their heritage. Still, they also raised American flags and wanted their children to be part of the country’s future. They became doctors, small-business owners, teachers, and soldiers. They wanted to be Americans.

What we are watching now is not the melting pot. It is isolation by design.

Parallel societies do not end well

More than 300 fundamentalist Islamic schools now operate full-time across the country. Many use Quran-first curricula that require students to spend hours memorizing religious texts before they ever reach math or science. In Dallas, Brighter Horizons Academy enrolls more than 1,700 students and draws federal support while operating on a social model that keeps children culturally isolated.

Then there is the Epic City project in Collin and Hunt counties — 402 acres originally designated only for Muslim buyers, with Sharia-compliant financing and a mega-mosque at the center. After public outcry and state investigations, the developers renamed it “The Meadows,” but a new sign does not erase the original intent. It is not a neighborhood. It is a parallel society.

Americans should not hesitate to say that parallel societies are dangerous. Europe tried this experiment, and the results could not be clearer. In Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, entire neighborhoods now operate under their own cultural rules, some openly hostile to Western norms. When citizens speak up, they are branded bigots for asserting a basic right: the ability to live safely in their own communities.

A crisis of confidence

While this separation widens, another crisis is unfolding at home. A recent Gallup survey shows that about 40% of American women ages 18 to 39 would leave the country permanently if given the chance. Nearly half of a rising generation — daughters, sisters, soon-to-be mothers — no longer believe this nation is worth building a future in.

And who shapes the worldview of young boys? Their mothers. If a mother no longer believes America is home, why would her child grow up ready to defend it?

As Texas goes, so goes America. And as America goes, so goes the free world. If we lose confidence in our own national identity at the same time that we allow separatist enclaves to spread unchecked, the outcome is predictable. Europe is already showing us what comes next: cultural fracture, political radicalization, and the slow death of national unity.

Brandon Bell / Staff | Getty Images

Stand up and tell the truth

America welcomes Muslims. America defends their right to worship freely. A Muslim who loves the Constitution, respects the rule of law, and wants to raise a family in peace is more than welcome in America.

But an Islamist movement that rejects assimilation, builds enclaves governed by its own religious framework, and treats American law as optional is not simply another participant in our melting pot. It is a direct challenge to it. If we refuse to call this problem out out of fear of being called names, we will bear the consequences.

Europe is already feeling those consequences — rising conflict and a political class too paralyzed to admit the obvious. When people feel their culture, safety, and freedoms slipping away, they will follow anyone who promises to defend them. History has shown that over and over again.

Stand up. Speak plainly. Be unafraid. You can practice any faith in this country, but the supremacy of the Constitution and the Judeo-Christian moral framework that shaped it is non-negotiable. It is what guarantees your freedom in the first place.

If you come here and honor that foundation, welcome. If you come here to undermine it, you do not belong here.

Wake up to what is unfolding before the consequences arrive. Because when a nation refuses to say what is true, the truth eventually forces its way in — and by then, it is always too late.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Shocking: Chart-topping ‘singer’ has no soul at all

VCG / Contributor | Getty Images

A machine can imitate heartbreak well enough to top the charts, but it cannot carry grief, choose courage, or hear the whisper that calls human beings to something higher.

The No. 1 country song in America right now was not written in Nashville or Texas or even L.A. It came from code. “Walk My Walk,” the AI-generated single by the AI artist Breaking Rust, hit the top spot on Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart, and if you listen to it without knowing that fact, you would swear a real singer lived the pain he is describing.

Except there is no “he.” There is no lived experience. There is no soul behind the voice dominating the country music charts.

If a machine can imitate the soul, then what is the soul?

I will admit it: I enjoy some AI music. Some of it is very good. And that leaves us with a question that is no longer science fiction. If a machine can fake being human this well, what does it mean to be human?

A new world of artificial experience

This is not just about one song. We are walking straight into a technological moment that will reshape everyday life.

Elon Musk said recently that we may not even have phones in five years. Instead, we will carry a small device that listens, anticipates, and creates — a personal AI agent that knows what we want to hear before we ask. It will make the music, the news, the podcasts, the stories. We already live in digital bubbles. Soon, those bubbles might become our own private worlds.

If an algorithm can write a hit country song about hardship and perseverance without a shred of actual experience, then the deeper question becomes unavoidable: If a machine can imitate the soul, then what is the soul?

What machines can never do

A machine can produce, and soon it may produce better than we can. It can calculate faster than any human mind. It can rearrange the notes and words of a thousand human songs into something that sounds real enough to fool millions.

But it cannot care. It cannot love. It cannot choose right and wrong. It cannot forgive because it cannot be hurt. It cannot stand between a child and danger. It cannot walk through sorrow.

A machine can imitate the sound of suffering. It cannot suffer.

The difference is the soul. The divine spark. The thing God breathed into man that no code will ever have. Only humans can take pain and let it grow into compassion. Only humans can take fear and turn it into courage. Only humans can rebuild their lives after losing everything. Only humans hear the whisper inside, the divine voice that says, “Live for something greater.”

We are building artificial minds. We are not building artificial life.

Questions that define us

And as these artificial minds grow sharper, as their tools become more convincing, the right response is not panic. It is to ask the oldest and most important questions.

Who am I? Why am I here? What is the meaning of freedom? What is worth defending? What is worth sacrificing for?

That answer is not found in a lab or a server rack. It is found in that mysterious place inside each of us where reason meets faith, where suffering becomes wisdom, where God reminds us we are more than flesh and more than thought. We are not accidents. We are not circuits. We are not replaceable.

Europa Press News / Contributor | Getty Images

The miracle machines can never copy

Being human is not about what we can produce. Machines will outproduce us. That is not the question. Being human is about what we can choose. We can choose to love even when it costs us something. We can choose to sacrifice when it is not easy. We can choose to tell the truth when the world rewards lies. We can choose to stand when everyone else bows. We can create because something inside us will not rest until we do.

An AI content generator can borrow our melodies, echo our stories, and dress itself up like a human soul, but it cannot carry grief across a lifetime. It cannot forgive an enemy. It cannot experience wonder. It cannot look at a broken world and say, “I am going to build again.”

The age of machines is rising. And if we do not know who we are, we will shrink. But if we use this moment to remember what makes us human, it will help us to become better, because the one thing no algorithm will ever recreate is the miracle that we exist at all — the miracle of the human soul.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Shocking shift: America’s youth lured by the “Socialism trap”

Jeremy Weine / Stringer | Getty Images

A generation that’s lost faith in capitalism is turning to the oldest lie on earth: equality through control.

Something is breaking in America’s young people. You can feel it in every headline, every grocery bill, every young voice quietly asking if the American dream still means anything at all.

For many, the promise of America — work hard, build something that lasts, and give the next generation a better start — feels like it no longer exists. Home ownership and stability have become luxuries for a fortunate few.

Capitalism is not a perfect system. It is flawed because people are flawed, but it remains the only system that rewards creativity and effort rather than punishing them.

In that vacuum of hope, a new promise has begun to rise — one that sounds compassionate, equal, and fair. The promise of socialism.

The appeal of a broken dream

When the American dream becomes a checklist of things few can afford — a home, a car, two children, even a little peace — disappointment quickly turns to resentment. The average first-time homebuyer is now 40 years old. Debt lasts longer than marriages. The cost of living rises faster than opportunity.

For a generation that has never seen the system truly work, capitalism feels like a rigged game built to protect those already at the top.

That is where socialism finds its audience. It presents itself as fairness for the forgotten and justice for the disillusioned. It speaks softly at first, offering equality, compassion, and control disguised as care.

We are seeing that illusion play out now in New York City, where Zohran Mamdani — an open socialist — has won a major political victory. The same ideology that once hid behind euphemisms now campaigns openly throughout America’s once-great cities. And for many who feel left behind, it sounds like salvation.

But what socialism calls fairness is submission dressed as virtue. What it calls order is obedience. Once the system begins to replace personal responsibility with collective dependence, the erosion of liberty is only a matter of time.

The bridge that never ends

Socialism is not a destination; it is a bridge. Karl Marx described it as the necessary transition to communism — the scaffolding that builds the total state. Under socialism, people are taught to obey. Under communism, they forget that any other options exist.

History tells the story clearly. Russia, China, Cambodia, Cuba — each promised equality and delivered misery. One hundred million lives were lost, not because socialism failed, but because it succeeded at what it was designed to do: make the state supreme and the individual expendable.

Today’s advocates insist their version will be different — democratic, modern, and kind. They often cite Sweden as an example, but Sweden’s prosperity was never born of socialism. It grew out of capitalism, self-reliance, and a shared moral culture. Now that system is cracking under the weight of bureaucracy and division.

ANGELA WEISS / Contributor | Getty Images

The real issue is not economic but moral. Socialism begins with a lie about human nature — that people exist for the collective and that the collective knows better than the individual.

This lie is contrary to the truths on which America was founded — that rights come not from government’s authority, but from God’s. Once government replaces that authority, compassion becomes control, and freedom becomes permission.

What young America deserves

Young Americans have many reasons to be frustrated. They were told to study, work hard, and follow the rules — and many did, only to find the goalposts moved again and again. But tearing down the entire house does not make it fairer; it only leaves everyone standing in the rubble.

Capitalism is not a perfect system. It is flawed because people are flawed, but it remains the only system that rewards creativity and effort rather than punishing them. The answer is not revolution but renewal — moral, cultural, and spiritual.

It means restoring honesty to markets, integrity to government, and faith to the heart of our nation. A people who forsake God will always turn to government for salvation, and that road always ends in dependency and decay.

Freedom demands something of us. It requires faith, discipline, and courage. It expects citizens to govern themselves before others govern them. That is the truth this generation deserves to hear again — that liberty is not a gift from the state but a calling from God.

Socialism always begins with promises and ends with permission. It tells you what to drive, what to say, what to believe, all in the name of fairness. But real fairness is not everyone sharing the same chains — it is everyone having the same chance.

The American dream was never about guarantees. It was about the right to try, to fail, and try again. That freedom built the most prosperous nation in history, and it can do so again if we remember that liberty is not a handout but a duty.

Socialism does not offer salvation. It requires subservience.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Rage isn’t conservatism — THIS is what true patriots stand for

Gary Hershorn / Contributor | Getty Images

Conservatism is not about rage or nostalgia. It’s about moral clarity, national renewal, and guarding the principles that built America’s freedom.

Our movement is at a crossroads, and the question before us is simple: What does it mean to be a conservative in America today?

For years, we have been told what we are against — against the left, against wokeism, against decline. But opposition alone does not define a movement, and it certainly does not define a moral vision.

We are not here to cling to the past or wallow in grievance. We are not the movement of rage. We are the movement of reason and hope.

The media, as usual, are eager to supply their own answer. The New York Times recently suggested that Nick Fuentes represents the “future” of conservatism. That’s nonsense — a distortion of both truth and tradition. Fuentes and those like him do not represent American conservatism. They represent its counterfeit.

Real conservatism is not rage. It is reverence. It does not treat the past as a museum, but as a teacher. America’s founders asked us to preserve their principles and improve upon their practice. That means understanding what we are conserving — a living covenant, not a relic.

Conservatism as stewardship

In 2025, conservatism means stewardship — of a nation, a culture, and a moral inheritance too precious to abandon. To conserve is not to freeze history. It is to stand guard over what is essential. We are custodians of an experiment in liberty that rests on the belief that rights come not from kings or Congress, but from the Creator.

That belief built this country. It will be what saves it. The Constitution is a covenant between generations. Conservatism is the duty to keep that covenant alive — to preserve what works, correct what fails, and pass on both wisdom and freedom to those who come next.

Economics, culture, and morality are inseparable. Debt is not only fiscal; it is moral. Spending what belongs to the unborn is theft. Dependence is not compassion; it is weakness parading as virtue. A society that trades responsibility for comfort teaches citizens how to live as slaves.

Freedom without virtue is not freedom; it is chaos. A culture that mocks faith cannot defend liberty, and a nation that rejects truth cannot sustain justice. Conservatism must again become the moral compass of a disoriented people, reminding America that liberty survives only when anchored to virtue.

Rebuilding what is broken

We cannot define ourselves by what we oppose. We must build families, communities, and institutions that endure. Government is broken because education is broken, and education is broken because we abandoned the formation of the mind and the soul. The work ahead is competence, not cynicism.

Conservatives should embrace innovation and technology while rejecting the chaos of Silicon Valley. Progress must not come at the expense of principle. Technology must strengthen people, not replace them. Artificial intelligence should remain a servant, never a master. The true strength of a nation is not measured by data or bureaucracy, but by the quiet webs of family, faith, and service that hold communities together. When Washington falters — and it will — those neighborhoods must stand.

Eric Lee / Stringer | Getty Images

This is the real work of conservatism: to conserve what is good and true and to reform what has decayed. It is not about slogans; it is about stewardship — the patient labor of building a civilization that remembers what it stands for.

A creed for the rising generation

We are not here to cling to the past or wallow in grievance. We are not the movement of rage. We are the movement of reason and hope.

For the rising generation, conservatism cannot be nostalgia. It must be more than a memory of 9/11 or admiration for a Reagan era they never lived through. Many young Americans did not experience those moments — and they should not have to in order to grasp the lessons they taught and the truths they embodied. The next chapter is not about preserving relics but renewing purpose. It must speak to conviction, not cynicism; to moral clarity, not despair.

Young people are searching for meaning in a culture that mocks truth and empties life of purpose. Conservatism should be the moral compass that reminds them freedom is responsibility and that faith, family, and moral courage remain the surest rebellions against hopelessness.

To be a conservative in 2025 is to defend the enduring principles of American liberty while stewarding the culture, the economy, and the spirit of a free people. It is to stand for truth when truth is unfashionable and to guard moral order when the world celebrates chaos.

We are not merely holding the torch. We are relighting it.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.