The American Flag, Unraveled

Digging Deep into the American Flag's Past

I did research on the American flag and its origination, and found out a lot went into this simple banner. It was originated on June14, 1777 when Congress passed an act that allowed to United States to create a flag to represent the new-found nation. I researched more about the flag, and found out that the idea of the flag was created by Francis Hopkinson, and the actual flag was sewn by Betsy Ross in Philadelphia. Since the states have been added since the original creation, there have been many acts established to add in these new parts of the flag (like stars number going up). These changes to the flag were made all the way from 1777-1960. I knew that there had to be reasons our flag looked the way it did, and with future research, came across a good explanation of why the flag looks the way it does. The thirteen stripes are representations of the original thirteen colonies, and the fifty starts are representations of the fifty states. The color of red represents blood and valor, the color blue represents perseverance and justice, and white represents purity. The more I researches, the more I learned about all of the meanings hidden behind this seemingly boring flag. The flag for the United States represents freedom, justice, and a united nation. The consensus of the meaning of the flag is universal, and is even in the pledge of allegiance, "for freedom and justice for all". It is a positive symbol, because in times of rough patches, the United States remains together, and pledge to the flag for the people that die for us every day. I learned that some of the flag's nicknames are "stars and stripes", "the star spangled banner", and "old glory". Old glory is from the original flag made by Betsy Ross, stars and striped represents its outward appearance, and star spangled banner is from the United States's national anthem. I, personally, am in love with the current music, and I have heard things about the flag mainly in my least favorite genre of music, country. In the song "Ragged Old Flag" by Johnny Cash, the flag is mentioned as a united country for the post-watergate scandal. Unfortunately, album covers do not always hold the American flag to the respect it should be held at. For instance, on The Black Crowes album, the American flag is portrayed in an area a sign of respect should never be. I have always been taught that the flag is a representation of our freedom on this Earth. We are blessed to receive the lives we live under this nation, and get more freedom as women, men, and people of color than even plausible in many other countries. It also represents the men and women that have died for our country and for this flag. When the flag goes up our hand goes over our heart, hats come off, and we sing for the freedom we were blessed with. Although recently people have stopped participating in this, it is still and internationally known sign of respect and represents more than meets the eye. People recently are beginning to use the flag and its symbols as a way to share their political views, but it is not the item that should be used to fight for these beliefs. It is disrespectful to all of the men and women who fight every day for what that flag represents and for our freedom. Not being willing to stand during this is very controversial, and extremely wrong. As one of my best friends moms died in battle, I have seen this first hand. To see her cry tears over people sitting for the thing her mom gave her life for is one of the most painful things I have ever had to watch. There are so many forms of social media, or speeches after games to promote your ideas, but taking it all the way to the American flag is when things have gone too far.

This is a stamp of the first American flag ever created

Sources:

http://www.pbs.org/a-capitol-fourth/history/old-glory/ - used to find the information and the background of the flag. Where it came from, what it represents, and how it was made.  
https://commonflaghistory.weebly.com/other-nicknames-for-the-flag.html- used to find nicknames of the flag.