american-symbols

American symbols are by no means a simple and straightforward manner, as the more rabid patriots would have you believe. There are more American symbols than the bald eagle and the statue of liberty. There are many symbols of American culture and life. For example, if you are a southerner, the Confederate flag might be an American symbol for you, but if you are an African American, you might find this American icon to be deeply insulting. It is really important to keep symbolism in perspective. The symbols of America are just that: symbols. The only thing that gives them real power at all is our belief in that, and we can never let that belief become more important than our ties to eachother. In the right hand, national symbols can be quite beneficial, increasing ties of man to man, but in the wrong hand, even the most benificient of American symbols can be an invite to tyrrany.

Take that most well known of American symbols: the statue of liberty. This symbol of American freedom, given to us from the French, from whose philosophers are modern ideas of freedom come from, stands proudly at one of the greatest entryways for immigrants in the world: New York harbor. But since September 11, 2001, this American symbol has turned ugly. More than any of the other American symbols, we have begun, in the name of liberty, to do all kinds of monsterous and unforgivable things. We have invaded countries and overthrown governments, as well as killed tens or even hundreds of thousands of civilians. Although American symbols of freedom seem like they should always stand for just that freedom, to many people around the world they have come to stand for nothing but simple straight forward murder and oppression.

Of course, Native American symbols are something different all together. While the flag, the bald eagle, and lady liberty symbolize our current country, Native American symbols have come to symbolize our countries spiritual past, before the conquest hungry Christian colonists brought a more modern mindset to the continent. Native American symbols, sometimes against the objections of the Native Americans from whom they were taken, have been used to represent all kinds of neo-pagan religious revivals, becoming symbols not just of the peoples that used them, but also of modern religious movements. Whatever the use of these Native American symbols, it is interesting to see how an ancient idea can be reincarnated to refer to something that is thoroughly modern.