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What Do Patriotic Pins Signify

By Marla Mills


Many people will have seen patriotic pins in one form or another. They can often be observed being worn on the lapel of any politician being interviewed by the media. The most common design being that of the national flag, and supposedly denotes a strong spirit of patriotism.

The concept behind these badges is nothing new, although the various experts cannot agree when they started their rise in popularity. One thing that they do agree on is that they become more prominent during troubled times. Maybe there is more to the idea that they rose in popularity during the Civil War.

Perhaps it was conflict that created a more public display of patriotism. A walk down any street in America will soon see a house sporting the country's flag. It is not easy to take a full size flag everywhere with you. So a miniaturised version which can be discreetly worn is deemed an acceptable alternative.

These feelings of patriotism are always there it is just that they are sometimes more evident than others. An illustration of this can be shown by looking at WWII. Before the 1940s it was just the men who wore such badges. Once these men were called up for active service the women stepped into the void left by them, which included wearing these outward signs of patriotism.

Not only was it the national flag that was being displayed. There were also designs being worn which denoted which service a loved one was in. There were designs for the Army, Air Force, Marines and Navy. Each design was worn with pride, and often more than one would be worn at the same time.

Not all military conflicts are popular with the public, for example there was the Vietnam war. At that time Robert Redford starred in the film The Candidate. His character was involved with initially running for the Senate and he wore a badge on his lapel. The Nixon administration adopted that idea, and all of Nixon's aides were instructed to wear the same badges. This also filtered down to the grass roots supporters.

Unit emblems were also produced for the various military units involved in the war. These were designed to also promote unit solidarity and identity. As they were not best suited for combat operations they were worn by loved ones at home. Even to this day the various veteran's associations will still wear those unit emblems with pride.

Another recent upsurge of patriotism came immediately after the Twin Towers attack on 9/11. Even Barrack Obama wore a lapel badge for a short while. His popularity suffered when he discontinued wearing it. Which goes to prove that you shouldn't ignore the importance that the public place on a symbol. It is not a surprise that he is often pictured wearing one now.

So it is easy to say that the popularity of these patriotic pins has ebbed and flowed throughout history. However like history there are plenty of people who have an interest, and many people collect these items. Also there are still many people who wear these items with great pride for a variety of reasons.




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