Celebrating Flag Day 2020

Flag Day 2020 marks our 56th Wedding Anniversary. Vi and I were married on June 14th 1964, so each Flag Day celebration has special meaning for us.

The serious part of this posting is in three parts: 1) Three current crises, 2) Three patriotic songs, and 3) Three positive hopeful predictions.

But first, before we get to the serious part, let's have a look at:

MY FLAG DAY NEEDLEPOINT




44 years ago, in 1976, I designed and made a needlepoint replica of the then-current United States 13c postage stamp (see the graphic below).

My intent was to honor the American Revolution Bicentennial, marking the 200th year of the American Republic, our great experiment in Representative Democracy.

My replica is true to the postage stamp and the original 13-star flag, except for the arrangement of the stars. Instead of a circle of 13 stars, I substituted 13 stars in a "Star of David" arrangement. This is like the 13 stars in the Great Seal of the United States that you have seen on the back of  the US dollar bill.

On the postage stamp shown above, Independence Hall is depicted in front of the flag, That also has meaning to Vi and me because we drove from Brooklyn to Philadelphia on the day I presented our engagement ring to her.

The MIRACULOUS Return of My "Darwin's Cathedral" Book

Is religion a useful biological "adaptation", as claimed by biologist David Sloan Wilson, author of the 2002 book Darwin's Cathedral - Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society, or is religion a "delusion" and a "mind virus", as claimed by biologist Richard Dawkins, author of the 2006 book The God Delusion ?   Or, as I claim, is religion BOTH a delusion and an adaptation?

This posting is about these two important books, but first, I must tell you the "miraculous" story of how, against all odds, I happened to get my copy of Darwin's Cathedral in the first place, how I stupidly lost that book, and the amazing story of how I got it back.