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As summer comes to a close I was reminded of the adventures I had embarked on this break, while sitting in my American Studies class. My teacher had briefly mentioned
Six Flags Great America and it got me thinking, what does naming an amusement park "Six Flags Great America" say about the way we view ourselves and our nation?
Taken from my past trips to the park I came to realize that, aside from perhaps the Southwest Territory Region and the American Eagle roller coaster, there is very little in the park that actually pertains to America. With this in mind I began to analyze what was in the park. All I could think of was cartoons, roller coasters, fast food vendors, and carnival games. Is this what we want to represent our nation? The replacement of American related attractions with more fanatical attractions suggests the depreciation of patriotism in favor of entertainment.
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Naming an amusement park "Six Flags Great America" almost degrades the majesty of the American nation. It creates an image of Americans just being fun-loving, careless people. It brings up the question of whether we as Americans, allow ourselves to neglect our country in order to experience more pleasure in our lifestyles. I believe that we do. Given the recent economic and foreign downfalls America has experienced, Americans no longer feel a surging sense of nationalism. Therefore naming an amusment park that reflects the less positive aspects of our lifestyles after our nation does not matter. We do not intentionally try and, in a way, disgrace our nation but we just feel quite as proud of America as we once did. It all boils down to the fact that we are experiencing a loss of nationalism. We just do not care as much about our nationalism anymore and instead care more about our own enjoyment. In a wrap we have chosen rollercoasters and fastfood vendors over nationalism.
I very much agree with the idea you brought up about the decline of nationalism in America today. The most obvious example I can think of is the lack of participation in the recitation of the the Pledge of Allegiance in schools. Simply put, no one stands up during morning announcements at schools to say the Pledge. Though some might believe its just a result of laziness, it also demonstrates an extreme lack of American pride. If you can't manage to stand up for less than a minute in the morning to honor your country, its not just because of lack of sleep.
ReplyDeleteTo add onto what Alexi was saying about honoring our country, I think a major sign of an "extreme lack of American pride" is how we treat holidays such as the most recent one, Labor Day. I feel as though it has become known as just another day off of school or work that you spend going to barbecues, when it is really a day to commemorate the harsh labor that the people that lived in America before us had to endure. Of course, there are TV specials about the day, but I don't know anyone who watches them. Just as no one takes the time to say the Pledge of Allegiance, no one takes the time to learn about the history of Labor Day and the like.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with whats been said. And i think it brings out a lot of other things that relate to this trend that i had never really realized. But just to pose another question, and further our discussion, why do you guys think that Americans respond that way to what was once such a serious thing? To clarify why would you say that there is such a drop in nationalism? Sorry to sound so much like a teacher i jsut wanted to hear your thoughts on why things are the way they are.
ReplyDeleteI think what has been written is very interesting. One possible cause of a drop in patriotism is the way that the word "America" has become almost an advertisement. The Six flags is called Great America not because it has anything to do with America, but because people have think positively of America, and the park owners are trying to get people to associate America with the park. The word America is used the same way in other company names; American Express, American Airlines, among others. When The name of a country is used merely as an advertisement, it reduces the power and respect towards the name, which would contribute to the drop in nationalism that has been noted.
ReplyDeleteAmerica is just such a different place than what it once was. Immigrants from all over the world have settled in our country and have brought in so many new ideas. I feel as though these changes are what is creating, not necessarily a lack in nationalism, but a lack of knowledge. I don't think that young people are being properly made aware of our past and what there is to be patriotic about. Or maybe they are being made aware, but they just do not care.
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