The American Flag

But what does it all mean...

The Star Spangled Banner, a nickname for the flag of the United States of America. It consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes, alternating red and white, a blue rectangle in the canton (commonly meaning the upper left quarter), with fifty small five pointed white stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows of five stars. 

I've spent almost 4 months in America so far and one of the many things that's struck me is how many flags there are flying everyday in the United States. The most popular flag maker in America makes over 100 million U.S flags every year, this is a huge number but it only accounts for the domestic production of large flags. Numbers for imported flags and hand held flags are not available but are again thought to run into the hundreds of millions. 


The amount of money spent annually on importing American flags to the United states is steady year on year at around 5 million dollars. The only exception to this is 2001 when that figure jumped to over 50 million dollars in the aftermath of 9/11, and this statistic gives me an insight into the power of the flag.

As I'm a particularly sad individual I thought I would count the number of flags I saw per day just going about my business. I reckon that just driving into town for a coffee you're likely to come across around 7-10 large American flags. In cities larger than Omaha this number increases exponentially, for instance, when I visited New York at the end of December, there were so many flags flying there that I lost count, but it was easily into the hundreds. 

Now, pretend for a moment that you're as sad as me, you're driving to your local Tesco (other supermarket chains are available) because you're all out of mild curry flavour Super Noodles. Excluding people who live on military camps, how many Union Jacks would you see on your journey?

Maybe one at the most?

This brings me onto the subject of this weeks blog, "but what does it all mean"?

Well, to me it means that the Americans are a ferociously patriotic people and they're not afraid to show it. I for one admire the Americans for flying their National flag at every opportunity. The Star Spangled Banner brings people together, you only have to look at the rise in sales of flags post 9/11.

It gives the nation a focal point that every single citizen, no matter what their background is, can get behind. Seeing the flag flying in the breeze also reminds you of all the great feats achieved in the name of the United States over the last few centuries, and it's these feats which make this country one of the most powerful in the world. 

In the U.S the Stars and Stripes are flown everywhere, and I mean everywhere. From outside peoples houses, to D.I.Y stores, fast food restaurants, police stations, train stations, public buildings, department stores, etc... It's as if everybody wants to part of something special. 

In the UK, when you think about landscaping your garden, the last thing on your mind is putting up a 30ft flag pole so you can fly your Union Jack with pride. But why not?

Are we embarrassed of our national identity?

Are we so afraid of offending minorities in our own country that we are willing to forego any thoughts, or more importantly gestures of patriotism?

Or, have we lost our National pride, do we not feel like we have anything to be proud about anymore?

A friend of mine said the other day, "I don't think of it as Great Britain, to me it's just Britain", and I think we can tell a lot from that statement. 

I was talking to another friend of mine the other day (yes I have more than one), he emigrated to Canada several years ago and had just returned from a three week business trip to the U.K. I asked him about what it was like spending three weeks back home and he didn't paint a rosy picture. Although it's always a pleasure to spend time with family and old friends he wasn't in a hurry to move back anytime soon. 

He said he was actually on a recruitment drive for his Canadian company, from what he saw back home there were no opportunities, no future and few prospects for success especially for young people. He went on to say, "everything is old and tired, there's no development, no investment in infrastructure, life seems harder and full of stress".

Several couples I know have emigrated to sunnier climbs, mainly to Australia and if you're lucky enough to have travelled a little it's not hard to see why. Life abroad is usually more relaxed, there's investment, taxes are lower, the quality of life is high and more importantly to me, the family unit is very much intact. Back home you have to work so hard to keep a roof over your head and it's easy to lose sight of what's really important. 

"Living to work, working to live".

Which one do you feel you're doing?

Gee Wiz information as the yanks say;

The American flags placed on the moon over 40 years ago are now completely white, bleached by harsh U.V rays and unfiltered sunlight.

Winters of yesteryear...

Some shots from around Omaha in winter time.

Blue sky winter days, like the ones I remember from when I was knee high. 

South Dakota III

Sioux Falls

The Falls here are quite impressive, but in all honesty there isn't anything else at Sioux Falls, and I certainly wouldn't be in a hurry to head back.

The Crazy Horse Memorial

To give some idea of scale, the whole of the
Mount Rushmore site would fit neatly into just Crazy Horses head.

The Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of Custer County, South Dakota. This huge mountain sculpture has been under construction since 1948 and is still far from complete. In 1929, Henry Standing Bear, a Lakota elder initiated the project to honour Crazy Horse. 

Crazy Horse was a legendary Native American war leader of then Oglala Lakota, he took up arms against the U.S Federal government to fight against encroachments on the territories and the way of life of the Lakota people. After surrendering to U.S troops in 1877, Crazy Horse was fatally wounded by a military guard while allegedly resisting arrest. 

The above picture gives some idea of how the finished sculpture will look and also how much rock has been removed, estimated to be at least 10 million tons. Since drilling and blasting started, care of the memorial has been in the hands of the Ziolkowski family. The project is funded only from visitor fees and equipment is donated from industry. 

The project is not without it's controversies and most of these originate within the Native American communities. Lakota Elders claim they were never consulted about construction of the memorial and that the Black Hills should never have been desecrated, the hills were there for them to enjoy and pray to. 

In Native American cultures pointing with your index finger is prohibited, it's believed to be rude or taboo, and has been likened to commissioning a sculpture of Sir Winston Churchill with an upraised middle finger.

Positive immigration

Part III

The Statue of Liberty, a symbol synonymous around the World with New York City. The statue was a gift from the French, dedicated on October 28th, 1886. The statue is of Libertas, the Roman Goddess of Freedom, she bears a torch and a tablet which has the date of the Declaration of Independence inscribed on it. 

Taking a boat trip on the Hudson River I was greeted by the breathtaking site of all the sky scrapers at the waters edge in Lower Manhattan. As the boat made it's way toward Liberty  Island it first passed Ellis Island, and it was at this moment I heard a truly amazing fact broadcast over the boat's tannoy system. 

"In New York City it's estimated that over 800 languages are spoken"

To be honest this caught me a little bit by surprise, I've never thought about it before, but I didn't know there were that many languages in existence. After googling, "how many languages are there in the world", I was again shocked at my own stupidity. It turns out there are in between 6800 and 6900 languages in the modern world.

It's no coincidence that this fact was broadcast as we drew level with Ellis Island on our approach to Liberty Island. The statue itself was an icon of freedom and a welcoming signal to immigrants arriving from abroad.  Once immigrants had arrived they were processed on the nearby Ellis Island, which came to be known as the Gateway to America. 

Ellis Island opened in 1892 as a federal immigration station, a purpose it served for more than 60 years. So many immigrants passed through the station during that time, it has been estimated that close to 40 percent of all U.S citizens can trace at least one of their ancestors to Ellis Island.

Millions of immigrants came to America during the 19th and 20th centuries from all over the world to find their fortune, and to contribute to the building and expansion of America. To this day they are still coming, numbers for both legal and illegal immigrants in the States are around the 50 million mark.  

And this brings me onto the subject of this weeks blog.

Is there any such thing as positive immigration?

New York City is a melting pot of cultures, deli counters sell foods on every other street from all corners of the globe. The hustle and bustle of the downtown areas is made all the more colourful for it's mix of nationalities, and for me this is what defines the big apple.

Spending time in this great city it's not hard to see what draws so many immigrants here. I myself usually prefer mountains to sky scrapers, rolling hills to ribbons of tarmac, and green valleys to subway stations, but it's impossible not to become intoxicated with the vibrancy of this place. And furthermore, it's the epitome of the American Dream.

The Declaration of Independence ratified in 1776 proclaims that, "all men are created equal", and that they are, "endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights", including "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". In 1931 James Truslow Adams said, "life should be better and richer for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.

From the above statements we can see the message has always been simple, come here freely, work hard and you will be rewarded. There is no doubt that positively encouraging immigration during the last few hundred years has helped America become the prosperous super power we all know.  

Today immigration is a dirty word, it's associated with foreigners sponging off the government, finding loopholes in the system and getting money for nothing. Whenever you read a newspaper you're bombarded by reams of articles that shine a negative light on the subject. 

Maybe the question we should ask ourselves is, how prosperous would we be in the developed world if it wasn't for immigrants?

Can we blame the immigrants for the way the system works, after all it's not the immigrants who make the rules?

If we use the Declaration of Independence as a guide then surely immigrants have the right to better themselves and provide for their families?

Immigration is one of those subjects that's usually avoided by politicians at all cost, as it's too much of a hot potato. Being pro immigration is not a vote winner and if you're anti immigration you're immediately branded a racist. 

I know there will be a lot of people who blankly don't agree with a word I've said, and to be honest with you, I've never been particularly pro immigration. However, after visiting many cities in the United States I can't help thinking it's the foreign influences from all the immigrants who've settled over the years that makes America what it is today.

It's the tabasco sauce on your omelette, it's the jalapenos in your deli sandwich and it's the wasabi in your mash. It's that touch of spice that makes everything that little bit more interesting. 

Why wouldn't you want to emigrate to the United States, after all, sky is the limit. 

Concrete jungle where dreams are made...

Part II

I must have taken a few hundred photos whilst in New York, here's a selection of the best ones in no particular order. 

The Brooklyn Bridge.

Padlocks on the Brooklyn Bridge, still don't get why people do this, but looks quite good.

Buildings shot from Central Park.

In case you hadn't noticed, it's a log.

Thomas the squirrel. 

Some advertising in the Lower Eastside. 

John the monkey, just hanging around I guess.

Usually don't like altering images too much, what do you think?

Looking back at Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn.