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What the flag means to americans
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The American Flag
After July 4th, 1776, the people of the colonies felt the need of a national flag to symbolize their new spirit of unity and independence. On the afternoon
of June 14th,1777, Congress passed a resolution that “the flag of the United States be 13 stripes. Alternate the red and white, that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field.”
The stars in our flag represent the fifty states. No one star represents any
particular state. The stripes in the flag stand for the thirteen original colonies. The stripes were probably adopted from the flag of the Sons of Liberty. It had five red and four white stripes.
On our American flag, the white signifies purity and innocence. The red color means hardiness and bravery. Blue expresses courage, vigilance (alertness), perseverance (never giving up), and justice.
The American flag has produced different reactions in people. Here are some people’s opinions; President Woodrow Wilson expressed in 1917. “This flag, which we honor and under which we serve, is the emblem of our unity, our power, our thoughts and purpose as a nations.” John Lindsey, former New York
City mayor, once said, “The flag stands for the right to believe what you want and speak as you must. Its design conveys its real meaning. There wouldn’t be individual stars and individual stripes if we were all suppose to think the same.”
Former Senator Robert Winthrop said, “So when you see the flag, I just hope you remember the blood, sweat, and tears that men have gone through to keep our country free.”
In the 1976 revision of the flag code by Congress, the symbolism of the United States Flag is considered to be a living symbol representing a living country. The flag represents the many freedoms, rights and responsibilities not entrusted to the citizens of any other country in the world.
To veterans throughout American history, the Stars and Stripes have served as a symbol of their service, and as a continuing testimony that the service was worthwhile. During a military funeral, the flag draping the casket embraces the service man or woman who devoted their life.
In conclusion, flags are the most important symbols that nations have. The flag’s meaning is in the mind of those who look at it. People love it or hate it, fight for it or tear it to shreds.
In Johnny Cash’s song, The Ragged Old Flag it says, “In her own good land here she’s been abused. She’s been burned, dishonored, denied and refused.” To me this means that people have stopped honoring all that it stands for. The flag stands for all of the battles and sacrifices the United States has had to make to get it to where it is today. People
For more than 200 years, the American flag has been a big part of the United States. Betsy Ross had been the first, reportedly, to make the American flag. It originally had thirteen stars, representing the first thirteen colonies, but later it ended up with fifty to represent the states in the Union. It is a symbol of our
To the Majority Opinion it’s a flag of our nation but to the Dissenting opinion its means more than just a flag. It means “White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & velour, and Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice." In this case the Dissenting opinion gave reasons why flag burning should be banned. Eventually Congress passed the Flag Protection Act of 1989. The Act banned flag burning regardless of whether the person burning the flag intended to cause offense to
In order to help answer this question let’s being by defining what a flag is. The proponents (veterans, Citizens Flag Alliance, and other organizations of this type) of the amendment for protection of the flag define the flag as a “cultural artifact with meaning significance, and usage determined by the particular system employing it (Guenter 18).” Some flag historians have recognized the impact of culture on the shifting significance and usage of the national banner, although no one has ventured a full-scale probe of the subject (Guenter 16). The flag in the beginning was a symbol of freedom and enlightenment. The flag design has even changed. The very first flag contained thirteen stars that were in a circle with the red and white stripes. As the nation grew so did the flag, until the flag became what we know of it today.
Have you ever believed that Betsy Ross designed the first flag of the United States? Well, that old childhood tale is false and a congressman names Francis Hopkinson created the first flag. The flag is an emblem of the U.S and shall never be disrespected. The flag, for some people, can just mean a piece of fabric, but for others the flag symbolizes much much more.
For those who want to light Old Glory on fire, stomp all over it, or spit on it to make some sort of "statement," I say let them do it. But under one condition: they MUST get permission from three sponsors. First, you need permission of a war veteran. Perhaps a Marine who fought at Iwo Jima? The American flag was raised over Mount Surabachi upon the bodies of thousands of dead buddies. Each night spent on Iwo meant half of everyone you knew would be dead tomorrow, a coin flip away from a bloody end upon a patch of sand your mother couldn't find on a map.
There have been the fights for our freedom and fights against each other. Through all of the battles, the American flag stood strong and proud. There have been many sacrificed deaths for our freedom. The flag stands for every person that ever gave up their life for the good of our country. The people that were at the front line standing proud for our nation are the real heros. That is what the flag really stands for. The everyday citizens that continue to fight while we continue our normal lives. Many people may not think of the American flag as much but it stands for so much more than just what our eyes can
The Confederate flag was used symbolically during the Civil War. To southerner’s, the flag represented a source of southern pride as well as a way of remembering the fallen Confederates. As the Civil War proceeded, the meaning of the flag began to change. Currently, the flag is being used as a symbol for racism. Due to this change in meaning, controversy over the flag has been exponentially growing. Although many would argue the original meaning behind the flag and that it is a symbol of historical culture that should not be forgotten, the flag should be banned due to its representation of racism and the seceding of the states.
In a 1943 landmark Supreme Court case, Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote, "The freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much" (qtd. in Jacoby el al. 20). This concept can be applied in the debate on whether to amend the Constitution to ban flag burning. When one considers the Constitution and the symbolic meaning of the United States flag, he or she can see that this is one issue that does mean a great deal to the American public. The freedom to differ is of extreme importance in this case, which can be seen as one reviews the reasoning for committing such an act and what it might mean beyond the desecration of a revered national symbol.
What is the value of nationality? And how important is a flag to that nationality? For some people the flag is extremely valuable to nationality and unity, for that reason many people have opposed flag desecration in recent history. Flag desecration is when a person or group of persons mistreat or burn a flag for various reasons. The most frequent being in protest of the government and their political or foreign decisions.
The dissenting opinion to the previous idea is that the government's legitimate interest in preserving the symbolic value of the flag is, however, essentially the same that may have motivated a particular act of flag burning. The flag uniquely symbolizes the ideas of liberty, equality, and tolerance -- ideas that Americans have passionately defended and debated throughout our history. The flag embodies the spirit of our national commitment to those ideals. To the world, the flag is our promise that we will continue to strive for these ideals. To us, the flag is a reminder both that the struggle for li...
What is the American flag and what does it represent? For many Americans the flag represents freedom, pride, and justice. Our flag stands for freedom because of the many lives that had to be lost throughout history for us to be the nation we are today. The American flag stands for pride because of the many American soldiers men and women who lost their lives for us. Lastly, our flag stands for justice because in the United States no matter what crime we do we have the right to a fair trial.
...o captivating. Additionally, it does make an extensive number of appearances at various ceremonies and great events, such as the opening ceremonies of sporting events and national holidays such as Independence and Memorial Day. However, “The Star Spangled Banner” embodies a much broader and more abstruse, cryptic connotation. It illustrates America’s attitude of perseverance when facing seemingly indomitable adversities or unachievable ambitions. It represents America’s unfaltering faith, traditional values, and ethical laws that have come to characterize America’s individuality. It signifies America’s past, a historic reminder that unites the people and instills, in their hearts, a profound sense of patriotism and glory. Most of all, “The Star Spangled Banner” symbolizes the truth of what America truly means–“the land of the free and the home of the brave”.
I believe that the flag is a symbol of death. When we look to the flag we think of our country and the people that lost their lives in the war, fighting for our freedom. In the poem line 93, reads, "I guess it must be the flag of my disposition..." meaning that the flag is a symbol of giving his life or the transferring of his being ...
What does the American flag represent? The flag represents the country, and what the american people stand for. What is the origin of the flag, what does it symbolize, what are the rules and codes of the flag, what are the parts of the flag, and how has it changed over the years? It is a symbol of hope, and of perseverance.