Do symbols really matter?

Ijust read a piece by a syndicated columnist, who shall go unnamed, about the controversy over those who burn the American flag. While the writer correctly upholds the right of anyone to burn the flag based on the First Amendment, she takes it a step further to basically indicate that the symbols we hold dear as representative of our country and everything it stands for are pointless, even if hundreds of thousands have fought for our freedom under its banner. She indicated it was just a piece of cloth made in China.

No doubt, her column is the result of news accounts about individuals and groups burning the American flag after the election of Donald Trump. But, for some time now we have seen other examples of disrespect for our flag. Athletes are taking a knee during the display of the flag and the performance of the national anthem. Just this week there is a college in Massachusetts that took their American flag down because according to them it sparked too much controversy.

It all raises an important question. Do symbols really matter? Should we even have them? Should symbols be considered the equivalent of the sacred? Do we really need them in our lives?

I believe many, if not most of us, revere our flag and our national anthem and may from time to time get a lump in our throat, or feel a sense of pride when we raise our hand across our chest in honor and respect.

Is it because we have been conditioned to do so? Or is it because we genuinely identify with the flag and what we believe it stands for?

All sorts of symbols have been around for a long, long time. Let’s take a wedding band for example. It’s a material object just as our flag is. Try telling a young bride or the wife of a couple who have been married for decades it’s just a symbol and doesn’t mean anything.

Or how about this, take that first grade coloring card your child gave you for Valentine’s Day that you have saved for all these years. Go ahead, tell that parent it’s just a pointless object that does not mean anything and let me know how that works out.

I remember one day when doing some long overdue house cleaning I came across a box of old photos. When I opened it, I came across photos of our first child. She lived only six months. They were just pieces of paper with an image on them, yet I found myself sitting in the floor, my eyes filled with tears that rolled down my cheek. It was only a symbol, a symbol that had deep meaning for me.

For many, when it comes to our flag and the customs we hold dear in its honor, it’s no different.

If you must have more food for thought, let’s take the Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights or the Constitution. Why not burn them? After all, they are just pieces of paper with words on them, some might say just symbols of our history, they really don’t mean anything unto themselves.

Sometime back at an event held

at Georgetown University, Bono, the lead singer for the Irish rock band U2, said in a speech that “America is an idea, Ireland is a great country, but it’s not an idea, Britain is a great country, it’s not an idea. That’s how we see you around the world, as one of the greatest ideas in human history. Right up there with the Renaissance, crop rotation and the Beatles White Album. The idea, the American idea is an idea. The idea is that you and me are created equal, that life is not to be endured, but to be enjoyed. The idea that if we have dignity and we have justice — leave it to us, we’ll do the rest. This country was the first to claw itself out of darkness and put that on paper and God love you for it.”

I would say that’s a pretty good summation of what our country stands for — what our flag stands for. It is that idea that so many have fought and died to preserve. And that idea is what is encapsulated in our flag, our symbol if you must.

Our country was not born out of perfection. It emerged during a time when many things we now find repulsive were acceptable. But, because of the framework our founders left us with their mission to create a country where all men are treated as equals, a path was set that had never existed in any country before.

Now, some 240 years later, we are a country that has learned from its mistakes and omissions. Certainly, we are not yet a perfect country, but the progress made is unmatched by any country in the world, providing unparalleled freedom beyond the reach of any king, queen or dictator. There is no country where open debate has been able to bring about change as it has in America, where citizens can challenge their own government. It’s a country that even permits anyone to desecrate the symbols of its very existence. As odd as that seems — that’s America. These attributes and accomplishments are rare in world history to say the least.

On second thought, those are very good reasons not to burn or disrespect our flag, or to refuse to fly our flag or to refuse to honor it when displayed with the national anthem. Those who do have no idea how lucky they are and clearly do not grasp its meaning. More than our scorn, they deserve our pity.

The American flag is our essence — it is us.