full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Michael Green: How flags unite (and divide) us

Unscramble the Blue Letters

So why, then, have all of these little laws around how we use our flag if you can't efrncoe them? And that's because a nation is a fragile collective idea. It only etisxs in our minds. Can I see this? Thank you. Sometimes a flag is the only tangible symbol of that idea. Right? Our unity is sometimes only held together by ltraiel threads. And that's powerful. The flag code is mnaet to preserve and protect that frlgaie idea, while also protecting your right to break it. And that's what's special about the United States, right?

Open Cloze

So why, then, have all of these little laws around how we use our flag if you can't _______ them? And that's because a nation is a fragile collective idea. It only ______ in our minds. Can I see this? Thank you. Sometimes a flag is the only tangible symbol of that idea. Right? Our unity is sometimes only held together by _______ threads. And that's powerful. The flag code is _____ to preserve and protect that _______ idea, while also protecting your right to break it. And that's what's special about the United States, right?

Solution

  1. meant
  2. fragile
  3. literal
  4. exists
  5. enforce

Original Text

So why, then, have all of these little laws around how we use our flag if you can't enforce them? And that's because a nation is a fragile collective idea. It only exists in our minds. Can I see this? Thank you. Sometimes a flag is the only tangible symbol of that idea. Right? Our unity is sometimes only held together by literal threads. And that's powerful. The flag code is meant to preserve and protect that fragile idea, while also protecting your right to break it. And that's what's special about the United States, right?

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
flag code 11
united states 4
american flag 2
state flag 2
powerful tools 2
world war 2
brand guides 2
nazi flag 2
nfl players 2
players kneeling 2
blue lives 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
nfl players kneeling 2

Important Words

  1. break
  2. code
  3. collective
  4. enforce
  5. exists
  6. flag
  7. fragile
  8. held
  9. idea
  10. laws
  11. literal
  12. meant
  13. minds
  14. nation
  15. powerful
  16. preserve
  17. protect
  18. protecting
  19. special
  20. states
  21. symbol
  22. tangible
  23. threads
  24. united
  25. unity