Interpretation of the US Flag

For several years I've had this idea rattling around in my head, and I've even told a few people about it. So I decided to make it a little more "public" so here goes.

Flags and other symbols usually mean what is associated with them rather than the raw symbol having an intrinsic meaning. For instance, the swastika was used by several cultures, including examples in Native America. But then the Nazis adopted the swastika as their symbol and now it has a specific association, decidely different than what it had before that time.

Brand logos come to represent what those companies want them to, or, at least what the market assigns to them.

The US flag is no different, and it certainly represents something very different to citizens of the US versus those in other parts of the world. And this meaning has changed quite a bit over the years.

With all that said, the flag represents specific things to me.

The Blue Field: this represents the things most of us strive for: justice, truth and purity.

The Stars: these represent us, the citizens of the U.S.

The White Stripes to the right of the blue field: these represent the path we have taken to get here, for those who have not paid with blood.

The Red Stripes to the right of the blue field: these represent the path we have taken to get here, but by those who have paid for where we are with their blood.

The White Stripes across the lower half represent the path taken by those who came before us.

And the Red Stripes across the lower half represent the path taken by those before us who paid with their blood.