Flag and national anthem‏American dream Happy 4th of July

Flag and national anthem‏American dream Happy 4th of July Zhang Zhaohong On the occasion of the annual July 4th U.S. National Day,...

Zhang Zhaohong

As the annual July 4th National Day approaches, I am reminded of the American flag and national anthem. I didn’t know much about the origins of the national flag and the national anthem before, but in this place where we thrive, we should have a better understanding of them.

There is still no unified statement about the origin of the Stars and Stripes. A widely circulated story in the United States holds that the first Stars and Stripes was sewn by a woman named Betsy Ross.

In the Pennsylvania Museum in the capital of Pennsylvania, there is a famous oil painting, that is “Birth of Our Nation’s Flag”. This oil painting was created in 1892 by the painter Charles Weisgerber. The woman in the painting is Betsy Ross, unrolling the sewn flag. Washington, the first president of the United States, is seated on the left. Standing is U.S. Army Colonel George Ross, who was a Pennsylvania congressman at the time. The other seated man is Robert Morris, also a member of Congress. At this moment, they are weaving the "American Dream."

This oil painting expresses the birth of the national flag in 1776 in an artistic form. Beside Bessie are sewing tools and fragments of fabric, while rays of sunlight are shining into the house through the window lattice. This not only adds color to the picture, but also shows people that the flag of the Republic and the new Republic are bathed in the sun, opening a new chapter in history. And holding high the flag of the Republic was the "American Dream" for most Americans at that time.

After the oil painting was exhibited, it achieved great success. Within a few years, two million copies of the painting were printed, and the artist himself organized the American Flag House and Betsy Ross Memorial Association, whose members paid a 10-cent dues. With the money from membership fees and the sale of oil painting prints, the painter bought the old site of Bessie's cabin and rebuilt it, which later became a permanent historical building. In 1953, on the occasion of the bicentenary of Bessie's birth, it was also featured on a postage stamp. The American public helped Bessie fulfill her "American Dream".

From a historical perspective, there are many doubts as to whether the national flag was born in Bessie's cabin. However, more than two hundred years later, to the general public, whether this story is historically accurate is no longer so important. A woman who sewed the first flag in her hut and presented it to the first president of the republic. And this flag finally flew over the land of the United States, inspiring people to fight for the realization of democracy and freedom. Later, the American flag flying high inspired millions of new immigrants to come to this vibrant country to realize the "American Dream" in their minds.

The current American flag consists of 13 wide strips of red and white, representing the 13 colonies when the country was first founded. Red symbolizes courage, white symbolizes truth, and blue symbolizes justice. There is a blue rectangle containing 50 white five-pointed stars in the upper left corner, representing the 50 states of the United States. This flag is commonly known as the "Stars and Stripes" and its official name is "The Flag of the United States". It has been revised 28 times. For Americans, the flag is not only a symbol of all the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Most of the time it is a symbol of personal freedom and the essence of the "American Dream".

The American national anthem was born in 1814 at Fort McHenry.

In the early morning of September 13, 1814, the British navy began to attack Fort McHenry. This move was to open a way to capture Baltimore. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer at the time, stayed on a British warship and witnessed the entire naval battle. In the early morning of the next day, after a day and night of fierce artillery fire, he saw the Stars and Stripes still flying over Fort McHenry. He was so excited that he wrote a poem "Defending Fort McHenry." This poem was later set to an existing British tune and became a new song named "The Star-Spangled Banner". By 1889, the song was already in use by the Navy. In 1931, passed by Congress and signed by President Hoover, it officially became the national anthem of the United States. This song was born when the nation was in danger and war was raging. The lyrics are not only passionate and exciting, but also full of poetic and picturesque meaning. There are four paragraphs in the lyrics, and here is the first paragraph:

Oh, say! can you see by the dawn’s early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming; Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there: Oh, say! does that star-spangled banner yet wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

You can see that dawn has arrived, and the morning light has emerged. It is the last beam of light before sunrise. We cheer proudly, and the flag with its wide stripes and shining stars is still flying high over the fortress after the fierce battle. The red beams of rockets and the rumble of bombs in the sky are proof that after a long night, our flag still flies. You see, the Stars and Stripes will always fly over this land of freedom and the home of this brave man!

The American national anthem also calls on people to strive for the realization of the "American Dream". Whenever the national anthem sounds, it is the arrival of a solemn moment.

I have been in the United States for many years, and although I have heard the American national anthem more than once, the most personal feeling for me was the moment I moved in. Before the future of the United States, "America borrowed from Chinese" was still an unfamiliar term to me in newspapers and magazines. On that day, when the American national anthem sounded and the oath was read, the "American Dream" became a dream come true. Carrying the burden of my family, the first thing I did after I moved in was to submit an application to the Immigration Bureau, so that my parents and sisters’ future “American Dream” could be realized earlier.

Many years later, I can be considered successful in my career in a country of free competition, living a fulfilling and satisfying life. In fact, our "American Dream" is not luxurious. The children grew up in a peaceful environment and excelled in academic studies. The daughter served the society with love and worked as a sign language interpreter for deaf-mute children. The son was admitted to NASA after graduation, realizing his childhood dream. For them, they may not understand what the "American Dream" means, and may even be born in a state of ignorance. As parents of first-generation immigrants, they have long understood that the "American Dream" is hard-won. We have benefited a lot from this society and are constantly learning to give back to the society. Over the years, every time the Fourth of July comes, we have participated in celebrations, volunteered, and made contributions, with a grateful heart.

Under the flag and national anthem, people hope to realize the "American Dream", and for the general public, it is to build a better life and a happy family.