Bill Clinton

“ Our flag has been borne aloft into the heavens by our gallant astronauts and has been worn bravely on the shoulders of those who each day risk their lives to protect the public safety. It flies freely from its place of honor in classrooms, churches, businesses, government buildings, and is proudly displayed by Americans serving their Nation in distant points across the globe. Its silent, solemn presence makes each of those places "home" and keeps the spirit of liberty alive in the hearts of Americans wherever they may be. ”

“ Eleven years later, the Constitutional Convention placed a written rule of law at the symbolic head of government, and we have since pledged our allegiance not only to the Stars and Stripes, but also "to the Republic for which it stands." We salute the achievement and wisdom of our Founders, embodied in our flag, and we honor all of the men and women who have upheld and defended the ideals stitched into its billowing folds. ”

“ Woven into the Stars and Stripes and into the fabric of our Nation is the legacy of our Founders, who crafted a government built on a revolutionary respect for the rights of individuals. Coming ashore on this new continent, they had fled the tyranny of sovereigns: "We the People" were to be sovereigns of this new land.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress established the design of a flag for the new Republic so that we might bestow our loyalty, not to kings, but to countrymen, all of us created equal. ”