A flag is a special representation and a Brandmark of a country. It plays an imperative function of uniting a nation. It is an important and emotionally connecting symbol that represents the sovereignty state of a nation to the world and to its bearers. The Brandmark of a country’s flag should be simple and instantaneously recognized and distinctive from other flags that represent other nations (Dittmar, G. 2016). The idea of New Zealand flying a flag that bears the Union Flag as a component of its outline is a matter of concern particularly because the nation’s interests no longer represent those of Britain; neither does it resonate with New Zealanders. It is of great importance that New Zealand bears its own unique flag, which will represent its people and the nation in a unique way.
In support of this premise, consider the following reasons. When New Zealand flies a flag that represents Britain through the outline of the Union Jack, it sends out a message that its sovereignty is still far from being achieved. It could seem like it is still under the command of Britain in a way. The New Zealand flag represent its strong past and present ties that it has with the United Kingdom, its past with the British Empire, and its ties with the Southern Pacific. It also closely resembles the Australian flag. This makes it difficult to tell apart both flags and this causes confusion. Severally, a representative from New Zealand has been placed in front of the wrong flag due to this confusion.
The blue ensign in the flag does not also represent the current state of New Zealand as an independent nation that boasts of its sovereignty. What it does is to acknowledge the British heritage as opposed to that of its Maori people. It does not represent the present status of the nation but instead dwells on its past as a nation. This being one reason, New Zealand should support the idea of designing another flag that will be easy to recognize and be distinct from other flags in the world. It should be a flag that will have a clear direction for the nation’s future.
A unique banner that has the potential to represent a nation’s story should be well considered and designed. It should have a clear idea in which the brand is embodied and should at the same time unite its stakeholders. While some residents of New Zealand argue that the old flag should remain since it represents their history and heritage, they should reconsider to redesign it and do away with the designs that do not represent their present and their future as well. They should come up with a Brand mark that will make them het recognized easily.
I therefore uphold the idea of redesigning a flag that is simple, strong and which has the influence to unite all the kiwis together from all reference groups in the coming days. It should be a banner that aligns with the essence of the New Zealand nation. It should be a banner that will depict New Zealand’s character in terms of their national identity. In this paragraph I will therefore argue that New Zealand should defend their right to fly their own unique flag that is a representation of who they are and what they believe in. It should also represent their aspirations as a people.
In support of this premise, one should consider the following reasons. There have been various designs of how the new flag that will represent New Zealand should look like. The government has also been impartial on this matter and has given out four options for the new flag (Michelle, I. 2015). These options were upon the people of New Zealand to decide and to vote on the new flag. Out of the four flags, there only seemed like there was a consideration for two. This was due to the similarities found in three of the flags that had a silver fern in them, which was placed in a very similar design. The only difference from the three was that one had no ‘the Southern Cross stars’ in it.
In support of this premise, one should consider the following reasons. Numerous flags that belong to other nations do not have graphic symbols on their designs apart from Canada’s. One would expect the Australians to campaign for a kangaroo, or Ireland campaigning to use a harp or even France to campaign for a rooster on their flag. Instead, they use these symbols and this should be comforting for New Zealand in its pursuit to use the fern though according to some, its place is not on the New Zealand flag. Many New Zealanders would like to have the silver fern combined with the Southern Cross on their flag. This is a scenario of ‘mash the dual together’. This is due to the indecision on which of the two to use and so the option is to have the best parts of the symbols equally placed on the banner.
While a change is as good as a rest, maintaining what many citizens are used to would be comforting, especially to the senior citizens who have an attachment to their old flag. Better still, maintaining one color and the Southern Cross while merging it with another symbol could still represent the old and the new life of the New Zealanders (Holden, L. 2009). It could also portray a new beginning which represents a new representation of the people. It could also represent their fresh aspirations for their future as a nation. It could mean a good disconnection from the old in a polite way, while focusing on what lays ahead of the nation and its people.
However, amid these design choice challenges, the nation has finally come up with a symbol that has the capacity to represent and unite Kiwis from all reference groups. The symbol of the new flag consists of a white triangle that stands for the nation’s natural beauty. At the same time, it throws a fine reference to ‘the land of the long white cloud’. The Maori are also represented by the red triangle that stands for the Maori meeting house, which is referred to as the Marae. The black and blue triangles demonstrate that the nation is among the first nations to view the sunrise every morning. This advantageous factor is due to the nation’s geographical position on the earth.
While the new flag’s causes excitement among the nation’s residents, it comes along with several challenges. Cost is the main reason why the new banner is receiving resistance. The referendums are what are costing the New Zealand a lot of money that go up to 211 million dollars. This is in comparison to BP which spent the same amount of money on their new brand. Yet compared to other expenses by the government, this amount is a drop in the ocean, considering that it is being viewed as an enormous project.
However, it is important to consider the benefits that will be obtained from a new flag. It will give New Zealand an individual and exceptional positioning in the globe. It could serve as a point of promoting tourism that could draw people to come and tour the land of the New Zealanders as advertised by the proposed flag. This flag is a stupendous piece that will indeed serve to unite the kiwis. Its uniqueness is brought out by the fact that the nation aligns the real meaning of the country to that portrayed by the new flag (Goldfrey, M. 2014).
References
Dittmar, G. (2016). The NZ flag debate: Creating a brand mark for New Zealand.http://www.trulydeeply.com.au/brand-engagement/the-nz-flag-debate-creating-a-brandmark-for-new-zealand/ (Links to an external site.)
Goldfrey, M. (2014). New Zealand’s flag represents a country that no longer exists. The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/12/new-zealands-flag-represents-a-country-that-no-longer-exists (Links to an external site.)
Holden, L. (2009). The New Zealand republic handbook. Auckland N.Z: Republican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Michelle, I. (2015). New Zealand Debates Replacing Union Jack Flag, but With What? The New YorkTimes. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/world/asia/new-zealand-flag-designs-vote-nz.html?_r=0
