The significance of words, symbols and rituals in America

Words, Symbols and Rituals of America

America was constructed to be different from other nations. We, as Americans, pride ourselves on that difference. In our pride for our country, we implement several words, symbols and rituals into our daily lives that we do not often see. These reveal to us the difference of our country and how special it is compared to others. They portray the great things our country has been through and how it continues to thrive nonetheless through labor and exertion. Some may ask how do these portray America’s difference? What makes these symbols different from other nations? It is freedom that these portray and freedom which makes us different.

There are American symbols all across the United States, such as the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, the United States flag and even Mount Rushmore. We look at these symbols as inspiration for us. We take pride in them. The Statue of Liberty represents freedom, inspiration and hope. It reveals to us the newfound freedom after we became our own nation. These symbols not only reveal to us our country’s past, but what our country will be in the future. That is what it means to be American; to not only look on the past proudly, but to be able to visualize the future of our country and take pride in that as well. The Liberty Bell also symbolizes freedom. The inscription on the Bell reads, “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof.” We are not only a free country but we have utmost pride in the fact that we are free. The United States flag is not only our pride and hope, but it symbolizes how far we came from thirteen colonies to fifty states that are united as one under any situation. It symbolizes the freedom that we attained in the American Revolution. Mount Rushmore is a symbol of freedom and hope to people of all cultures and backgrounds. It not only glorifies the great presidents Washington, Roosevelt, Jefferson and Lincoln; but shows the people the work those presidents put into our freedom. All of these symbols have a common embodiment, which is that of freedom. Freedom is what makes America different in many ways that other countries simply cannot rival. Our founding fathers wanted to make it clear to us of the things they sacrificed in order for us to be a free nation. Abraham Lincoln states this in his Gettysburg address, “"This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Freedom is not something that can appear naturally, it must be fought for and reborn from the ashes of toil and diligence.

In order to describe America one must use elaborate words or phrases. There are many phrases that are used such as the Land of Liberty, the Land of opportunity and the New World. We use words every single day in every single language. Words are used to relate something or to describe something. When describing America we always use words of positivity and pride. The beginning of the Pledge of Allegiance states, “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." We use words such as these to proclaim that we are united together. Indivisible is a powerful word that portrays our loyalty to our country and to our fellow Americans. When America was truly founded, it was said to be the new Rome in all its former glory. America continues to thrive today in fame and power as one of the greatest nations in the world.

Rituals in America are used as an initiation or a way to express ourselves proudly and stately. Many rituals in the United States include Thanksgiving, naturalization ceremonies and Independence day. We use rituals such as these to express gratitude and pride toward our country. Thanksgiving encourages people to be grateful of all they have received over their life. It encourages them to think of the history of when our land was first founded by the pilgrims. The ritual of this holiday is to eat heaping piles of food so as to celebrate our country. Naturalization Ceremonies are used to initiate people into the United States of America. Immigrants, at that time, finally complete all the steps to become a US citizen and we celebrate them through initiation to our country. Independence day is a great and boisterous holiday. On this day we set off fireworks and children run around with sparklers in order to relay our pride to our country. We celebrate our founding fathers and everything they sacrificed in order for us to be a strong nation together. George Washington states, "Nothing but harmony, honesty, industry, and frugality are necessary to make us a great and happy people." What Washington says is completely true. We get this harmony and frugality on Independence day when we celebrate together the making of our country. We use all of these rituals to state our pride in our country and the freedom that we received with each event.

As it was stated earlier, all of these, symbols, words and rituals, have a common theme. That theme is that of freedom. Freedom is what makes our country different. We have religious freedom, freedom of speech, freedom to vote etc.. All of these distinguish us from other nations and these keep us in union with one another. A common ground is required for a nation to thrive and we have that here in America, and it will not fail.