Articles written by Jonah Hodge
Articles written by
Jonah Hodge

A New Door to an Old World

July 1, 2015 and July 20, 2015 mark both the end and beginning of the relationship between the US and Cuba. For the first time in half a century, an American flag is flying on Cuban soil. More than 50 years after President John Kennedy and Cuban President Fidel Castro drew solid lines of separation in our hemisphere dividing the two nations; the walls of mistrust are starting to come down. Cuba and the US reopened their embassies in Washington, D.C. and Havana last month. Much like the fall of the Berlin Wall, the opening of the embassies signals a new era of optimism for better relations, good will and hopefully commercial opportunities. Cuba, beleaguered and pressured by US and international sanctions for decades, will hopefully see much needed economic growth and expansion. The nation boasts one of the highest literacy rates in the world, but many note that potential human rights violations and widespread poverty have mired the life of Cubans for decades. One report asserts that many Cubans earn as little as $20 a month. The curtain of communism has fueled such intense animosity between our nations that citizens in both countries are still in awe that Cold War disputes and hostilities are starting to thaw.

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US Team Takes Hard Road To Victory

When it comes to soccer, it’s the women who have led the way. Perhaps it was Mia Hamm and the world Cup team of 1999 who started it, but soccer-- sometimes called the world’s sport-- truly has begun to take hold in the U.S. Admitted or not, we owe a great deal of that progress and popularity to the US Women’s National Soccer Team, both the current team and those prior. Their triumph not only symbolizes how much we as Americans love to win, but it also demonstrates that success is not just about winning. It’s about class, professionalism, focus and hard work. The women of the US National Soccer team have proven once again that a team is always greater than the sum of its parts and that Americans don’t settle, blame others or make excuses. We work harder.

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Good Etiquette Unites Us All

With the recent controversy surrounding the raising and lowering of flags, one has to wonder what flags mean to us. Clearly flags are more than mere banners of cloth stitched together to look nice, but rather they are symbols which carry weight, meaning and responsibility. If our flags do truly matter, our care of the American flag reflects how we see them in our daily lives, and how we see ourselves as Americans. According to the Flag Code, flags are the representations of living nations and therefore are living emblems themselves. Their maintenance and upkeep should mirror our allegiance to them. When caring for our U.S. flag, remember that it is not just an arrangement of stars and stripes but rather it is a symbol of unity connecting all Americans together. Our flag may be red, white and blue but it symbolizes an American heart that beats pure gold—encompassing our collective struggles, triumphs, victories, and defeats. How we care for, maintain and protect our American flag ultimately reflects how we care for our country, ourselves and each other.

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