There are many concepts and feelings that are associated with the American flag. For some people depending on their perception of the world, it represents an evil and oppressive government. For many immigrants, it means an opportunity to come to this country and prosper economically where in other places it might be impossible due to lack of opportunity. Although many people have different perceptions of the American flag. No other group of people will have as much insight and understanding of the American flag as the veterans who went and fought tyrannies and oppressive world powers like the Nazis and Japanese in world war two. Thanks to our veterans who raised our flag in the darkest of times, most of us can lay down in our comfortable homes …show more content…
Most people that come here in dire situations can say they are thankful for the opportunity to work and build a future for them and their families. The flag to them represents a beacon of light and hope where they are granted a new life. Like Thomas Jefferson said in the declaration of independence: “We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness.” We can translate this to the diversity of the people that live in this country, grow, and help our …show more content…
Jesus said: Greater love has no one than this: To lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Yes, it is true that innocent people always get caught up in the middle of any war but not all sides are driven by hate and fear. Many Americans willingly volunteered to give their lives to protect those who they loved. As the hate driven spread of Nazism ran like fire through Europe and the Japanese invading and subjugating other Asian countries, the people of this country had no option but to fight for what they loved and for their freedoms. For the veterans, the American Flag symbolized all the good things they held so dear to their hearts. It represents a symbol of courage to stand up and defend our families and fellow man. They gave the ultimate sacrifice a word that many Americans today have forgotten. They did it selflessly and so their offspring can live
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
Stripes and stars forever, right? Well, what exactly does that mean? The American Flag can be seen almost anywhere. From the high-school, to the ball park, and even in our homes, the American flag stands as a symbol of all that is good and true in America. When one thinks of the flag, they usually think of the blood that was shed for this country. It was shed so that we could have liberties, such as, freedom of speech and expression, which fall under the first amendment rights of the Constitution. However, when you think of a burning flag, what comes to mind? One might say it shows disrespect and hatred to a country that has given so much. In the case of Texas v. Johnson, Gregory Lee Johnson was accused of desecrating a sacred object, but, his actions were protected by the First Amendment. Although his actions may have been offensive, he did not utter fighting words. By burning the flag, Johnson did not infringe upon another's natural human rights. He was simply expressing his outrage towards the government, which is within the jurisdiction of the First Amendment.
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
The Star Spangled Banner is currently America’s National Anthem which says a lot about its importance. During the time that this song was written, America was at war with the British in 1812 at the Battle of Baltimore. Francis Scott Key wrote this song after seeing the American flag still standing after the battle in which the British had failed. The inspiration this song brings to the United States proves it to be extremely patriotic and nationalistic. The first verse of the song is what most Americans are familiar with. The Star Spangled Banner provides a visual image of the war and how the flag symbolized America’s independence from Britain. I believe that Francis Scott Key was trying to communicate the importance of America’s independence through symbolism, and provide a sense of nationalism by using description of the war that America had won. The American Flag symbolizes freedom that was fought for while trying to gain independence. It states in the Star Spangled banner that America is “Land of the free and home of the brave”. This signifies nationalism in the sense that in the battle for our independence, we fought for a country that we believed in and
All citizens should be able to look upon their flag with pride and glory. They should feel as though it unites them as a nation. Without a doubt, the current flag of Australia does nothing of the sort. It has become an anachronic symbol of the nation which poorly represents our society through the total disregard for the Indigenous Australians and their heritage. Not only does it suggest that we are a part of a colonial relationship, but it is constantly confused and associated with other countries with similar flag designs. A new flag will reinforce our national identity with a strong and inspiring design that is easily recognisable and unique to our country and its people.
In order to help answer this question, let’s begin 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 changed.
Have you ever heard the saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover"? There are many things that look very unpleasing on the outside but actually have a meaning bigger than just our lives. Something that has a special meaning to me is the American Flag. Imagine a dirty, old flag that is still standing after a war that many soldiers have lost their life for. Thinking about that gives the flag a bigger meaning than just old cloth. The flag stands for all of Americans loyalty to their country. It also represents the hardships our country has overcome over many decades. The American Flag stands for everybody that has fought and died for our country. One of the biggest things the flag stands for is the loyalty of our people.
First I would like to include some information about our american flag and how it came about. In the British colonies of North America before the Revolution, each of the 13 colonies had its flag. On Jan. 2, 1776, the first flag of the United States was raised at Cambridge, Mass., by George Washington. Known as the Grand Union flag, it consisted of 13 stripes, alternate red and white, with a blue canton bearing the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew. Congress, on June 14, 1777, enacted a resolution “that the Flag of the United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white, that the Union be 13 stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation.” On Jan. 13, 1794, Vermont and Kentucky having been admitted to the Union, Congress added a stripe and a star for each state. Congress in 1818 enacted that the 13 stripes, denoting the 13 original colonies, be restored and a star added to the blue canton for each state after its admission to the Union. All of the states and territories of the United States also have their own flags. Betsy Ross created the first flag. Betsy would often tell her children, grandchildren, relatives, and friends of the fateful day when three members of a secret committee from the Continental Congress came to call upon her. Those representatives, George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross, asked her to sew the first flag. This meeting occurred in her home some time late in May 1776. George Washington was then the head of the Continen...
The thesis of Flags of Our Fathers is that every soldier experiences war differently. It is basically saying soldiers on two different sides are still soldiers, they are both people no matter what side they are fighting on. He hints around the fact that you don't see soldiers’ fear even when they are scared to death. They refuse to show it, and they stand strong and confident. Both sides have a flag and they are both fighting for honor. War is
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.
Our flag gleams on buildings, it waves on our front porch, it soars in the wind above schools and parks, and it even rests on the casket of those who have fought for our freedom. Our flag symbolizes our country, our freedom, and our hope. The flag should not be burned by protesting. The flag should be shown the utmost respect; to burn the flag would be discounting the lives of the ones who have fought and still fight for our freedom.
The American Flag is a symbol of our freedom itself. We gained our independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. Since then we have solely on how we are going to remain a free country. After we gained our independence we stopped viewing freedom as a privilege. We began to believe that freedom is a right we should be given if we live in America. Yet, we were still using slaves for many years after we gained our independence. If we would have put into consideration what the slaves felt about us (white’s) getting freedom, and blacks not getting the same freedoms, I feel like we would have changed our minds about how we treat them. Freedom, or maybe liberty, is considered an unalienable right, which means it is god given right. Freedom has shaped our country into what it is today. We have the freedoms to do what we want, when we want, how we want, etc. is what makes America different from many other countries. Patrick Henry says, “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course other may take, but as for me, give it liberty, or give me death!” Patrick Henry was an orator during the 18th century that strongly supported the independence movement. Liberty is a major aspect of our country,
However, other parties can consider such actions treasonous and disrespectful. Nevertheless treason is defined as “the crime of betraying one's country, especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government.” Therefore by applying the definition, when one burns the American flag no acts of treason are accountable. Moreover, disrespect to those who are fighting, have fought, and fallen can also be portrayed when it comes to the action of desecrating the the star-spangled banner. Although, the burning of the American flag affirms the 1st amendment, a right that those same soldiers have fought for. While many citizens object the desecration of the American flag and consider such matter as disrespectful, when it comes to burning the flag we must tolerate other
The flag is the symbol of the community which differentiates it from the rest of the world but it is more than just the symbol. It is the identity of the people in front of the world that they are belong to which country or which nation. So flag is the identity of a person or a particular region that we display in front of the people. Flag is not just a piece of cloth that flies in the air and have no mean but in fact with this flag many patriotic emotions are also connected. People have the patriotic feeling with this flag as this the identity of them in front of everyone. Countries spend a lot of time and money in the designing of flag because pattern of the flag show the communities which are living in the country and their religion as well. By seeing the flag of the country we can understand many important things of the country.