It makes me proud when I see the American flag flying in the sky, makes us honor our heroes and sports stars, and it makes us remember the people who fought for the independence of our country. The flag flies tall and proud in so many places across America, the world, and even on the moon. Today, one hundred fifty million flags that are sold per year. The American flag brings together Americans as one united nation. “The American flag, Old Glory, standing tall and flying free over American soil for 228 years is the symbol of our beloved country.
Stereotypes have helped to build Australia’s identity, some true and some false. Different images such as Text One: “Australia Day Barbeque” and Text Two: “Farming Family” provide representations of Australian identity however they are different in how they represent Australia. There are some similarities, for example in both texts a sense of togetherness is present. When comparing both texts the Australian identity is represented with similar attitudes, values and beliefs, the pictures also reinforce particular stereotypes. These images also portray a side of the Australian culture that is privileged rather than those who are marginalised.
My flag consists of a green and yellow background with a Eureka flag in the middle surrounded by a circle. I have chosen the green and yellow because it represents many aspects of Australian culture. Firstly, green and gold represents the tradition colours of Australian national sporting teams. Many national sporting teams still wear the green and gold such as the ‘Socceroos’ (Men’s national soccer team), the ‘Kangaroos’ (Men’s national rugby league team) and the ‘Diamonds’ (Women’s national netball team). Green and gold are together embodied on the Coat of Arms which is the official symbol of the Australian government.
But before I begin, I want to pose the question. What truly is the Australian identity? Well, its not just fashionable mullets, jars of vegemite and people riding kangaroos.
An opposing piece to this, entitled ‘Advance Australia, fair!’ by Tristan Fairchild was published. In his piece, Fairchild uses his experience as a cultural liaison supervisor to persuade his audience that changing the date of Australia day can only be a good thing. Fairchild employed a authoritative and passionate tone to reason that celebrating a day that is viewed as an invasion is un-Australian and that we should rather be celebrating a rich and extensive culture. Joined to this article was a picture of an Aboriginal flag being raised, rather than the British flag, at Botany Bay by James Cook.
INTRO: So, what is a republic? A republic is a democratic nation in which the highest public office is held not by a monarch, who inherits the position by birth, but instead by a citizen chosen on merit. Australia is a monarchy because it was colonised by the British in 1788. With them, they brought their lifestyles, culture and system of government.
This shows that if it was changed no one would recognise it as we are all comfortable with the current flag. Do you have $25 million to spare? Changing the flag would be very
Since colonisation in 1788 Europeans believed the Aboriginal peoples to be a primitive race with no societal structures in place because their system did not resemble one that was recognizable or fit within it did not resemble a system that was recognizable by white settlers. National identity is believed to be a general concept that referred to a broad set of codes with a shared understanding within a nation, and the sense of belonging that is reinforced through myths, symbols, media activities, and everyday practices (Carter, 2006, p. 7; Van Krieken et al., 2017, pp. 234-244). Australia is now regarded as a diverse country with an identity that has evolved over time and will continue to do so. For Indigenous Australians to conform to this national identity, they had to assimilate and give up their values, beliefs, and cultural rights to become more like white Australia.
Finally, no I do not believe that the flag is a symbol of hatred or racism, but I do believe that some individuals do believe that, that’s what the whole history of the flag is based on. I believe that every individual should get solid facts/proof/knowledge on the topic and actually know what is going on, instead of believing everything that they hear and or see on the internet, TV, radio, ect… We already have enough problems in this world as it is. Know what you’re talking about and about your history before you open your mouth and make things an extremely bigger problem than it should
Polls have been taken over a period of time only to receive similar percentages of answers. The percentage stays the very same over the years. Mainly, the outcome states that the flag represents southern pride mostly by over 50% every time, rather than the banner promoting racism. Originally born as a practical banner of the commanders of the Confederate Army in Virginia, the commanders of the south wanted a symbol to identify their cause and their troops to serve as their battle flag during the Civil War. After going through a few ideas they chose the first Confederacy`s National flag -The Stars and Bars- to serve as their battle symbol during the war.
This loyalty was a significant characteristic of Southern Nationalism. The flag of the Confederacy was also another symbol of Southern Nationalism. “The Confederate government quickly became for the South, the successor to the federal government at Washington. A flag, the “ Stars and Bars,” was adopted for the new republic after a study by a committee that concluded that keeping the United States “Stars and Stripes” would be impractical and unpatriotic.” Southerners feared that white supremacy was in danger and feared slave rebellions.
As patriotic Australians we pride ourselves to be a nation that accepts and respects the beliefs of all cultures, but on this historical day majority of Australians tend to forget the true meaning behind the celebration. If you ask today’s society, what they did this Australia day mass numbers would respond with “binged on alcohol” and “indulged in a barbecue.” Consequently, this day cannot be called a national celebration when some of our fellow Australians are grieving while others are out celebrating an occasion they know little about. Giving due regard to the indigenous people and their mostly negative perspective on this issue should be a priority. A new date, not the 26th of January should be established, as rather than unite, it seems to divide Australians into different viewpoints.
The colors of the flag all having different meanings and represent freedom, pride, and justice. Many people only pay attention to the colors of the flag but forget about the stars and stripes, they have significant meanings also. The stripes represent the 13 colonies in the United States and the stars represent the 50 states. When the Founding Fathers were trying to put together a seal for the United States
From the 1970’s Australians have been viewed as bush people as they were seeming as heroic and brave. Never the less, internationally, Australians have been showcased as vulgar, racist that have strong pride for their country. Consequently, Australia has also been viewed as an alcoholic nation as companies continuously push the stereotype to market their products. In turn, Australian’s collective identity is made up of multiple other stereotypes that have been fed into. Despite being incorrectly portrayed; the Australian identity has a positive effect on Australian culture.
This is also connected because it reminds me where my family is from. My culture is based around this flag because it makes me who I am. It’s important to me because it came from my great grandparents who passed it down so we know where our
