Essay on "Most Powerful or Memorable Presentation of an American Myth"

Essay 4 pages (1384 words) Sources: 3 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

American Myths

The flag is the most powerful symbol of patriotism for any country, and especially for the United States because the American flag is recognizable anywhere. With its stars and stripes speaking about the history of the nation, the flag sums up what it means to be an American. Therefore, when a person looks at the flag or flies one in their yard or from their car, the person is saying, "I am proud to be an American." The flag equals patriotism. At the same time, the flag means whatever the individual wants it to mean. A person can burn the flag at a political protest to show disgust or disappointment with American policy. or, as Barbara Kingsolver explains, the American flag can be used for political reasons such as to symbolize the war on terror. Because the American flag can mean anything the person wants it to mean, it remains the most important and most flexible national symbols. The flag can represent proud patriotism or it can represent anger and the need for change.

In her essay "And our Flag was Still There," Kingsolver claims "Our nation was established with a fight for independence, so our iconography grew out of war." Kingsolver suggests that the flag has been associated more with war, violence, hatred, and death than with positive values like freedom and liberty. The flag also represents something different for people not born in the United States than it means for American citizens. Like any flag of any country, the American flag is most meaningful to the people who pledge to it. Yet many American citizens were not born in the country and have roots in other countries with different flags. The American flag is just one of many for most people in the world. For Americans, the flag is like a religious icon. As an icon, the flag represents essential parts of the American myth such as "liberty and justice for all" or "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The phrase "liberty and justice for all" is from the "Pledge of Allegiance," which is said by school children almost as if it were a religious prayer. Therefore, young children learn to almost worship the American flag. It is much more than just a piece of cloth.

The American flag has become bigger than just the flag of one of the world's nations, however. Unlike most other flags of the world, the American flag is recognizable everywhere. The American flag means different things for non-Americans just as it means different things for Americans. Americans are taught many myths about the history and culture of the country. For example, Americans are taught that Manifest Destiny is a God-given right. The myth of Manifest Destiny is what is responsible for the campaigns against the Native Americans because the idea gave early settlers the justification they needed to expand into Western territories. The flag represents the myth of Manifest Destiny because the number of stars on the flag has changed depending on how many states were within the country. As more and more territories were turned into states, the flag's stars grew and grew. Therefore, the flag literally proves that Americans believe that it was their destiny to expand across the continent. The original thirteen colonies are symbolized by the thirteen stripes, but the number of stars has changed several times throughout history (Streufert 1994).

Another myth that the flag embodies is the myth of freedom. The idea that citizens should be able to do whatever they want without government intervention is a very American one. Freedom is the essence of the American image since the nation declared independence from Great Britain. After that, freedoms were written into the American Constitution. The Constitution is another aspect of American political life that is symbolized by the flag. The flag represents the Bill of Rights: the laws that protect most American citizens. History has shown that not all Americans have enjoyed rights and freedoms. Women and people of color have been deprived of their rights until relatively recently. In the past, women have proudly flown the flag even if they could not vote.… READ MORE

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