Flag Day
June 14
National flags are not merely symbols of a country. Their colors and designs convey past history and future goals. Flags have powerfulconnotations. They speak to the people and politicians. People of one country will burn the flag of another with whose politics they do not agree. To show their anger, students display their own nations flags with the design altered or cut out completely. Dictators fly flags; dissidents rip them down. In every country of the world, the treatment of a flag displays an opinion or statement.
Americans take the treatment of their flag seriously and in the 20th century this has become an important issue. Included in the code of ethics are such rules as the national flag cannot be used for advertising. It cannot cover a monument or any ceilings. It must not be folded while being displayed. No one should write on an American flag. Ships can lower their flags slightly in greeting each other, but otherwise should not be dipped for any other object or person.
In the late 1960s, American students wore small flags sewn to the back of their jeans, symbolically insulting the American government and protesting its involvement in the Vietnam War. They burned the American flag in front of the Capitol Buildingin Washington as a statement of protest. In the early 1990s, senators suggested an amendment to the Constitutionthat would make this treatment of the flag illegal. The propositionwas opposed because many others felt that this change would be a violation of Americans constitutional rights to express their opinions freely.
For all the controversy it is interesting to point out that the United States did not even have a standardized flag until 1912! Called the Stars and Stripes, or Old Glory, the flag is one of the most complicated in the world. No other flag needs 64 pieces of fabric to make. The current flag has 13 red and white alternatingstripes and 50 stars on a blue background.
The American flag has also changed designs more than any other flag in the world. The first flag, called the Grand Union, was first flown at the headquarters of the Continent Army on January 1, 1776. Betsy Ross, a seamstress, is said to have contributed to this design. She had anupholsterybusiness which made flags for navy ships in Pennsylvania. A legend still persists that she showed George Washington how to make a five-pointed star and suggested thirteen stars in a circle for the first flag. Her descendants claimed that she offered the design. Actually, she and George Washington never met! George Washington did design the Grand Union.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress proposed that the United States have a national flag instead of the British Union Jack. The 13 stars of the flag represented the 13 new states. There were few public ceremonies honoring the Stars and Stripes until 1877, when on, June 14, it was flown from every government building in honor of the centennialof the adoption of a national flag. Schools had unfurledAmerican flags over their doors or outside the buildings long before this; but in 1890, North Dakota and New Jersey made a law that required their schools to fly the flag daily. The first official Flag Day was observed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1893. New York also proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day 1897. Other states were slow to follow. Some people thought that the day was too close to Memorial Day and Independence Day.
In August 1949, President Harry S. Truman proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day. Since then the President proclaims the commemorationyearly, and encourages all Americans in the country to display the Stars and Stripes outside their homes and businesses. Individual states determine how they will observe the day. In Pennsylvania and American Samoa it is a public holiday. Usually the flag is flown from all public buildings, speeches are made in public places and ceremonies take place in towns or cities
2010年中考英语词汇旧词新义:cause
中考英语词汇“for短语”全攻略
09年中考英语总复习经典习题讲解4一数词
2010年中考英语词汇旧词新义:blind
2009中考英语词汇表 系列W
09年中考英语总复习经典习题讲解2一名词
常用英语词语辨析105组(2)
09年中考英语总复习经典习题讲解3一冠词
2010年中考英语词汇旧词新义:deal
初中英语常用词组复习1
2009中考英语词汇表 系列R
2009中考英语词汇表 系列T
2010年中考英语词汇旧词新义:cost
常用英语词语辨析105组(5)
09年中考英语总复习经典习题讲解5一代词
为英语写作”画龙点睛“的24句谚语
2009中考英语词汇短语集锦 (1)
2009中考英语词汇表 系列YXZ
常用英语词语辨析105组(11)
十个窍门积累英语词汇
常用英语词语辨析105组(4)
2010年中考英语词汇旧词新义:clean
高中英语词汇:80后“A到Z”生存法则
2009中考英语词汇表 系列O
张惠妹《排山倒海》英文版
词汇笔记 五种词汇的学习方法 超强
初中英语常用词组2 介词短语词组
2009中考英语词汇表 系列N
2009中考英语词汇短语集锦 (2)
2009中考英语词汇表 系列JKL
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |