When you are not an American and live in Middle East, the United States flag, after your own country’s, is the second flag that you learn about. I am from Iran. From early years of childhood, I still remember that there were America’s name and flag everywhere.
When I entered school, on the first day of classes, each class was asked to form a line in front of the main building. There was a podium in front of student lines and there was an Iranian flag raised on the side of the podium. But there was also another flag at the school. This flag was indeed, the US flag. It was painted on the ground just before the main entrance of the school. All students were supposed to walk over it every morning, and as they were walking over, they were taught to pound their shoes on the flag as hard as they could.
Thus, even for a child who did not know about the US flag before starting education, the first day of school was enough to be informed. However, it was not the whole story. On government-supported demonstrations and street protests, people were carrying American flags painted or printed on placards and chanting America’s name.
We had courses about the Islamic Revolution. The courses were designed to advocate government ideas about the world, and since, America, the great Satan as it was called by the Islamic government, was the most important enemy of the state, it was not odd to have most of such courses focused on America. Indeed, the courses were quite informative. They taught us that stars on America’s flag are representations of fifty states and that America is a federal country.
The great Satan, the flag of America painted on the ground, the chants and slogans in rallies and demonstrations, they were all the state version of an offensive approach toward America, and they were advertised publicly with all the possible means. Still, it was only a part of the story.
I did not learn about United States or its flag at school. I did not even learn about it on television. The first time I heard the name of America was when I was three or four years old. My mom and dad were at our kitchen speaking about how good our refrigerator was. They said: “It is an American refrigerator; American merchandise is always the most reliable.” For a three year old kid, this conversation is more memorable than all the state-supported propaganda. Nevertheless, parents’ opinion is the solid truth for a child.
I can recall that I saw the American flag for the first time on a T-shirt of a friend. I was told this is the “flag of America.” I may not be able to identify all the major events that helped me realize “America” is the great power, but I can definitely confirm that by the age of seven or eight, my childhood friends and I believed that “America” was a powerful and rich country and that all the good things – lets say toys, electronic games, cars and all other stuffs interesting for little school children – were being built there and ultimately “America’s flag” was the symbol of that notion.
By the time I graduated from high school, many of my schoolmates were thinking of America as the ultimate place for having the best possible future. I could understand this paradox between the official and unofficial concepts of the United States. Although years passed from the day I entered school, the government still publicized the notion of “the great Satan,” which was the official account of America. However, the unofficial notion was quite different. I could see people praising American name and flag or any other thing related to America. The ultimate country in their minds, successful in every field from development and freedom to a good experience of life, was America and the flag of the U.S. was an important reminder of that.
I also witnessed the effect that the U.S. had on my country and region. I read about people who had stood up against the U.S. I watched people protesting against American influence and its interventions in the region. I could feel how the emotions were mixed when it came to America. I met people who truly hated the U.S. or people who truly loved it. I knew people who were ready to die against or for America.
Being grown up in Iran where American diplomats once have been taken hostage, where an Iranian passenger plane has been struck down by a US ship and where several US Presidents have traveled to, I have my own understanding of US flag. The flag of United Stated of America reminds me of a union between institutions, empowered by their citizens, for a better cause. It reminds me of a culture of struggle and fight for advancement and betterment. This flag has the meaning of power and dignity in itself. It shows conquest and progress. Nevertheless, it is the only sign – may be I should call it footprint – of human being in space, on the moon.
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