
Acrid flames, a lighter, and a supposed troublemaker; this is what protesting in America looks like now. The burning passion inside the flag, and the fifty stars crumbled to dust. Separation and corruption comes when a flag disengrates. Behind the American Flag, are hard-working honest people. Others call themselves Americans, but they don’t live up to the idea, the premise of our dear country : “All men are Equal”. To be American is to love and accept other people. To be aware of all cultures; To understand the universal struggle; to relate to your fellow man. The flag is much more than a piece of cloth, it’s the piece of cloth that binds together people of different cultures, ethnicities, and creeds. I am Nigerian but I am also American. Some people don’t understand this. When you don’t do the pledge to the American flag, you are going against America, not the evil corrupt doers in America. The police who shoot innocent people aren’t American; they are just people who live in America. The people who detest cultures and don’t want people to come to America aren’t American; they are just people who live in America . They don’t represent our American Flag. The American Flag represents our struggles and how we got this far, ignoring these type of people.
This is similar to god of the Gaps fallacy, yes? Whenever there is something wrong with Americans, they aren’t Americans. Unlike religion, though, America has a living document. If they go against our ideas, why should they count as Americans? I’m not saying they aren’t citizens of America; I’m saying they aren’t American. Americans are the kindest, nicest, coolest, group of people I know. I do sound very egotistical when I say that, and I sound like a nationalist, not a patriot. But, I am the complete opposite. Americans are not one race or religion. They are every race, every creed, every religion, in the world. The flag flies graciously, representing who we are to the rest of the world, showing them that they can be American too. Honoring the American Flag is a part of being American. People who detest it are either confused or ignorant. Standing up, providing factual information, and telling the truth, is a part of being American. Information doesn’t come at a cost. Educating those who don’t understand the value is what you should always do.
I honor the American Flag because America honors me. By giving me my certain unalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Everyday, I wake up to the sounds of violence on TV and the busy life of adults. The American Flag, when we pledge in the morning at school, it gives me vindication and actual hope for our country. Unlike, the false promises that news outlets give me, the flag gives me hope. The smiling faces of my classmates as they recite the pledge. “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” One God, when they say that, it’s not just for the Christian God. It’s for all gods, for all people, for all creeds. Then, the pledge emphasizes this at the last line “with liberty and justice for all”. The flag is all-inclusive. It gives me a group to belong to. I am American.
The flag shows who we are as a country. It makes us feel represented. If the president represents who we are. Then the flag shows off what we have accomplished as a nation. I respect and honor the flag because it’s a part of me. Without America, I wouldn’t have been born and I wouldn’t have been happy. America is the greatest nation in the world because it has every nation and every great idea. The Enlightenment, the Renaissance, and everything else. The American flag shows the progress of the free world. And the free world is something that anyone would love to be apart of.
Americans are human. We get scared at the thought of danger. The smell of acrid fire pervading and the smell of death along with it. But, we are brave enough to not get scared. We are smart. Casual inventions come as we prepare for the winter, a cold storm, or drought. It’s effortless. We never give up. We have the will to change it. We innovate. Ideas get tossed around, changing how we live forever. Americans are one of the greatest peoples in the world.
Some people, outside of America, don’t have this passion. They are behind because of their preconceived notions. That we can’t achieve this or do this yet. That we’ll never touch Mars. Just some centuries ago, it was the moon. Americans have this undying hope, that lies within our flag. I honor the flag because it represents my burning passion.
Fifty stars aren’t all the stars in America. I honor, appreciate, and love this flag. I would protect the idea behind it. Yes, I am Nigerian, but I would die for America, then get consumed in flames rather than let the ideas behind the flag burn.
