The United States flag quite literally stands for the original 13 colonies and each of the fifty states that came after it, but, to most Americans, it stands for something much greater.

It is a sign of the freedom and unity of a nation that, throughout its history, has been plagued by wars, recessions, and disasters. Since its foundation, the United States has changed in almost every way but one. The flag, other than the ever increasing number of stars, has remained one of the few constants in our history. That same red, white, and blue have stood by our side through two world wars, a civil war, a revolution, and never let us down, so much so that our nation’s anthem is based on its magnificence.

Once a year, people throughout the nation are unified even further as they celebrate everything that they see in the flag. For some, it’s realizing the freedom of speech, religion, or just disagreeing with how the government is being run without fear of repercussions. For others, it’s the sense of belonging to a group of people brought together by all that has been fought for. Every year, brave men and women will risk their lives in the name of their flag and the country it represents.

Lee Greenwood captures the essence of almost every American when he sings that “the flag still stands for freedom, and they can’t take that away”. Johnny Cash outlines a town’s reverence for the flag despite its ragged and worn out appearance. That flag is a sign of solidarity for all Americans in good times and in bad, through times of war and times of peace, never failing to rally us together. Raising of the Flag on Iwo Jima, Raising the Flag at Ground Zero, Buzz Aldrin placing the flag, and much more all show the Star Spangled Banner as the epitome of the American spirit.

The love of this beautiful symbol of our nation spans generations, ethnicities, social classes, and gender to prove that something as simple as a piece of cloth can bind together an entire nation. These days it seems to do a lot to cause a stir. The most amazing thing about this simple cloth, is, whether you choose to stand, sit, or kneel, it's meant to stand for the freedom you should have to choose without fear of any retribution. We pride ourselves on being "the land of the free", so rather than being torn by this symbol of our nation, we should try to be cognoscenti of what it's meant to symbolize to us as a nation.