More than fireworks.

More than history lessons.

More than politics, this is what Independence Day means to me, an abundance of flag waving, because symbols are a powerful presence.

So today's photo, a relic of farm life by Timothy Allen Photography, topped with Fourth-of-July’s most unmistaken symbol, taken in a canola field in Eastern Washington's Palouse region, represents what being an American means to me.

Just like it was to Francis Scott Key, detained and under British guard during an artillery attack on Baltimore's Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, for me the American flag has always symbolized resilience, triumph and freedom.

I am not naive, nor full-on idealistic regarding the complete catalog of history over what this symbol has loomed, I live in Hawaii, after all, where “Old Glory” has had a fraught and imposing relationship, but, as something representative, the Stars and Stripes presents a promise, a contract actually, published for all to see, its principals preserved for 250 years now, regarding equality, self governance and the rule of law over the predilections of people in powerful positions.

The flag itself is completely abstract, no representative images or cultural symbols grace its makeup.

Instead we have three colors, representing national values, thirteen stripes representing the original British colonies, which, after significant political wrangling, chose to unite in independence and self determination, and that field of 50 stars, none of which are named nor placed in particular order, but display equally, as acknowledgement of every state’s presence in the union.

Finally, whether flying atop the tallest flagpole, painted upon a ship, aircraft or vehicle, this symbol means home, home across a vast continent, the largest ocean and several seas.

The U.S. flag is the symbol Americans far from home, and maybe enduring difficult circumstances, tells them all is going to be fine.

In that sort of situation, Old Glory, The Constitution, and America itself don't represent perfection, but promise.