Flag

By Wayland

            Every morning, everyone does the pledge while looking at the flag. We do this thing to give credit to our flag and thank America for our privileges.

A flag is a special type of symbol, giving meaning and a name to the area of land that we call our home. A symbol gives meaning to a thing. A symbol is very important. If the United States didn’t have one, we would not have a definition for ourselves. If St Martin’s did not have an emblem, would people go to this school? Everything should have a symbol. Words also are symbols too or else they wouldn’t have meaning. The word itself is a symbol.

            The United States has a flag that originated when the colonies were fighting the British. They won the war. All the land in the colonies belonged to the winners. Some people decided to go west because the population was growing too much. Indians’ land was taken even though the United States made a promise to not take their land by force. They fought and bought land all the way to California.

            Even though the United States was founded on freedom, slavery still remained. The North and South were rivals. They fought a civil war and the North won. Slavery didn’t immediately end. Slaves were treated like property except they were humans. Taking property is against law, so it’s hard to free slaves.

            You would think that black people had good lives after that, but it wasn’t true. Blacks were given fewer privileges than whites. Many events like the Civil Rights Movement took place in Washington. Martin Luther King Jr. read his “I Have a Dream” speech. After that, America did the best to they can to treat all people fairly.

            Sometimes, when I look at that flag when I enter St. Martins, I wonder if this place would exist if history events didn’t happen exactly as it did.