Johnny Cash's Ragged Old Flag

An american is someone who loves the flag and is proud to a part of the country they live in and remember and have respect the people who died or risked their lives for us to keep our certain freedoms. An American is something foreigners dream of one day being because the country we live in is great and does not need to be fixed. A song that fits the description of an American is Ragged Old Flag by Johnny Cash. Americans are known to be prideful about the flag. In Johnny Cash’s song Ragged Old Flag he says, “I don't like to brag/But we're kinda proud of that ragged old flag”(Cash 10-11). This line shows how Americans are prideful of the flag and what it stands for and they can be considered bragging sometimes because of how much they talk

This is shown when Cash says, “In her own good land here she's been abused/She's been burned, dishonored, denied, and refused”(Cash 32-33). This line shows that Americans are free and many of them use their freedom to vandalize or protest against the flag or what it stands for and if that is what they want to do, they are allowed too. Another belief that this song represents is that the mistakes and flaws in the past make this country so much greater. “On Flanders field in World War one/She got a big hole from a Bertha gun”(Cash 24-25). This line represents that the flag is ripped and dirty but that each hole and each stain has a story and that each story can be incorporated into your everyday life. This also symbolizes how America and American’s are not perfect and are not all the same. Americans also enjoy talking about the history of the United States of America. This is represented when Cash says, “She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville/And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill/There was Robert E. Lee, Beauregard, and Bragg”(Cash 20-22). It shows that Americans know their US history from big battles to small scuffles. Americans take pride in the history behind their country, flag, and government and learn from past