preview

Freedom : A Symbol Of Freedom

Decent Essays

Everyday, just like millions of other children, I would start school by rising and placing my right hand over my heart, as I stared at the American flag. I would simply go through the motions, giving no thought to what the flag meant to me. To some, it is a daily reminder of the fear and oppression that occurs in this country. While to others, it is an expression of their freedom. However, to me, it is a embodiment of the mindset all citizens of America, past and present, and their struggle to achieve the true freedom of the American dream. As the great philosopher, George Santayana, once said “Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it”, so I would ignorant to say that the flag is a symbol of freedom for all. To simply say that America is free, is a blind outlook on a harsh reality that all of her citizens are not equally free. From its birth, the triangle trade forced Africans into slave labor for hundreds of years. The freedom promised in the constitution was one only held by caucasian males. Consequently, in the post antebellum era, these persons and other minority groups were discriminated and abused. For these times, the flag was split in two: the white half and the black half. The 1960’s brought a new wave of freedom. The civil rights movement moved the pressing issue of African-American oppression to the forefront. Once again, the constitution was revised, and more freedom and equality was created in America. Homosexuality was always taboo in

Get Access