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The other day at school a girl in my spanish class was wearing a tank top with an american flag printed on it. The next day a different girl in my math class had jean shorts on with stars and stripes on them as well. I am all in for showing U.S.A. pride on the Fourth of july or during the olympics. However, for just an everyday look I am confused as to why girls were suddenly so excited to show there pride. When a lot of people are wearing a certain item of clothing it is called a fad. Some examples from the past couple of years are UGG boots, combat boots, and skinny jeans. Although I would have never thought that wearing our country's flag around could be considered as just another fad, American girls have proved me wrong. As americans, most of us like to follow the leader. By doing this we stay with the group and don't draw attention to ourselves. What some people call American flag couture was originally made famous by pop icons Ke$ha and Katy Perry. People buy into fads that celebrities start because then it makes the person feel like they somehow are a part of the celebrity life. Even though I buy into fads just like the next person, I think we as Americans should start marching to our own drums of fashion and not make fads anymore.
I have noticed this too! Last weekend I went to a Toby Keith concert. While a lot of people associate country music with strong American pride I was still surprised by the number of people in red, white, and blue. Toby Keith sings a song called, “Made In America,” which sings about pride of Americans. The other day in class we discussed the idea of American exceptionalism when looking over different textbooks. Keith’s song represents this exceptionalism exceptionally well. I never realized before how much exceptionalism is prevalent in everyday society, from the way we dress, to our books, to our music. Culturally in America it is encouraged to be proud to be an American and it is taught that America is the best. A really good friend of mine, who is from Germany, is always commenting to me about the idea of exceptionalism and how “Americans always think they are the best.” While he agrees that America is a great country he always adds that there are many other great countries. I have noticed people dressing in red, white, and blue recently, but it has always been happening. Ever since the flag was created it has been worn, sung about, and praised. I believe it is not so much a “fad,” but something longer lasting, that will not change for a very long time.
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