In America, Old Glory represents more than just patriotism

Happy Flag Day! That’s right; today we honor our American flag. According to an article on the LA Times.com, “we are a nation that is hungry for the consistency and comfort of national symbols to show our “nationhood.” Therefore, we already use the flag, or its stars and stripes on everything—obsessively adorning everything from our clothes to NBA backboards.

Italian historian Arnaldo Testi, author of the recently published "Capture the Flag: The Stars and Stripes in American History," said it was during the Civil war that "the national flag established itself as a central pervasive icon of Northern public life" and earned the nickname "Old Glory." Actually, it was the massive immigration at the end of the 19th century that gave us the Pledge of Allegiance and the first celebrations of Flag Day, in the packed immigrant cities of New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. Mostly they were trying to win the hearts and minds of the immigrant children with rituals such as these.

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Read the full article here.