The meaning behind flags...

And its the 9th of August, National day is here again haha...
Before we continue, lets go and wish Singapore a Happy National Day haha ^^ Like what all other people would say...

As we are watching the National Day live broadcast on TV, we will always see the Singapore flag fluttering here and there, being waved around by people who are there or the performers themselves. Of course, many people would dismiss it as simply a sign of showing love to Singapore and blah blah blah. I mean, come on, other countries would probably have the same thing too. Flags fluttering everywhere, people wearing red T-Shirt, to a lot of people, this is all standard stuff...

But is it really just standard stuff?

When we look back into history, the flag is more then just a simple design on a piece of cloth, it is a symbol to many different people at different times.

In times of war, the flag is always one of the most important symbol in the heart of the soldier. Once the flag falls, it is inevitable that the morale of the army falls along with the flag and before you know it, the entire battle could be lost and the soldiers could have been wiped off the surface of the Earth. In fact, one of the highest honour that could be given to a soldier would be the flag bearer. In certain war films, you always see that the flag bearers receive the flag with the greatest sense of pride and in the battle that ensues, they are the one that charges all the way to the front, to the heat of the battle, leading their commrades on...

There have also been various stories of people dying for a single flag. I heard a story that a brother and sister lost their life when they country was at war. The story goes like this: The flag is falling, and then the sister grabs the flag and keep it flying. The enemy then shot her. As the flag drops to the ground, her brother grabs the flag before being shot by another enemy soldier...
There have been countless other stories, such as the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima...

All these goes to show how important the flag is to a soldier's heart...

Of course, it isn't just restricted to wars, there are also other places where the flag is a symbol. The sporting arena is one such other place. Notice that after the medals are awarded, the winner countries flags are raised along with the National Anthem. As it is being raised, you can feel the pride of the athelete. From the way the athlete look at the flag...

Also, when there are protests against a certain country, notice that the flag of the country that is being targetted is burnt. It goes to show that the flag means a lot to many people, and it can even be used to unleash a form of hatred and anger against that country.

We'll skip all those foreign exchanges that countries participate in...
I think one of the reason why we don't feel much for the flag is due to the fact that we see it everyday during morning assembly. Everday, we see the flag being raised without fail and it seems as though the act of the flag being raised is just a common everyday stuff. But when you get down to it, it isn't really that ordinary. The only thing that sustains the flag is the sovereignty of our country. If we lose independence, would we still see the flag being raised?

It is always during times of crisis and uncertainty that we feels all the strong sense of feelings that can come out from very simple symbols. Flags, National Anthem, Pledge... this symbols are all simple symbols that bring out that feeling when we are put into those situation...

The flag isn't just a piece of cloth that we raise everyday, it is a symbol of our sovereignty...
Just a piece of thought that has been echoing around in my brain during National Day.

Discmon