The American Flag. A simple design created from three colors and made up of stars and stripes. I see it as much more than 50 white five-pointed stars arranged in nine horizontal offset rows lying on a square of navy blue and thirteen horizontal stripes, alternating between red and white. 

The stars represent the 50 states that America holds but the blue they stand in was carefully picked to represent loyalty. In each state I go to there are neighborhoods and cities with homes that fly their state’s flag outside for all to see. But alongside every state flag, in every state, an American flag flies higher and stronger. Uniting all the states of America.

The thirteen horizontal stripes alternating between red and white are more than the colored lines on the flag. Thirteen stripes for the thirteen colonies. A constant reminder to the people of America just how far we have come. America started as only thirteen colonies, now it has 50 states.

The red. A reminder of how much bloodshed created a land that gives freedom and justice. The red is for the soldiers who had great courage in the face of danger. They fought through horrors most couldn’t imagine. They watched their friends fall alongside them as they continued to fight for America. Yet the flag was always illuminated during the darkness. The flag holds more red than any other color to remind us what families lost in order to keep America safe.

The white, signified purity and innocence. In history class, I learned about why we fought so long and hard. It was because it was what America felt would be right. In every war America fought, we fought because it was what America felt was right.

The American Flag. We have come to know it as Old Glory. As old as the flag may be, the message it carries will live on forever. To unite the states in times of distress. To encourage citizens to fight for what is right. To remind us of our freedom.