The image of this article illustrates something I've been thinking about a lot these past few days.
huffp.st/PfrUrYx
The way history panned out, American symbolism became strongly tied to the right-wing. (1/18)
#WednesdayThoughts
huffp.st/PfrUrYx
The way history panned out, American symbolism became strongly tied to the right-wing. (1/18)
#WednesdayThoughts
It's often associated with the subset of right-wingers that exhibit xenophobic/racist/homophobic/ethnocentric/extremely self-oriented/etc. values and behaviors, and somehow this orientation away from difference and the other seems to be commonly considered patriotic. (2/18)
When you look deeper into American symbolism, there are aspects that are definitely in line with that. The Pledge of Allegiance was written by someone who expressed racist, white supremacist opinions. (3/18)
The Statue of Liberty was originally a monument to the abolition of slavery but quickly lost that meaning. America the Beautiful includes verbiage that sounds like Manifest Destiny, an idea that was used to justify expansion of the US/the removal of the Indigenous people. (4/18)
But at the same time, those same symbols also have aspects that are typically seen as left-wing today. The Pledge of Allegiance says, "liberty and justice for ALL," and the author was a staunch socialist who believed that Jesus was a socialist. (5/18)
The Statue of Liberty is a symbol for an open-armed welcome to immigrants and the author of the poem inside was an advocate for Jewish refugees and immigrants. (6/18)
America the Beautiful is a song/poem that reflects the belief of social justice, written by a woman who is often thought to be lesbian and was a social rights activist interested in the struggles of women, people of color, laborers, immigrants, the poor, etc. (7/18)
imo, that's enough for the left-wing to reclaim/take ownership of American symbolism and patriotism. Like the Constitution, these symbols/the people who made them were a product of their time. As times change we get to adjust the meaning of it to reflect current times. (8/18)
From what I see today, it is the left that attempts to embody the spirit of "liberty and justice for all." It is the left that allows socialism, a system intended to serve all people of our nation. It is the left that stands for social justice for marginalized people. (9/18)
If the left does begin to take ownership of American symbolism, it reshapes what it means to be American and a patriot. The left has just as much right to be using American symbolism to represent its ideals, and present another version of what it means to be a patriot. (10/18)
Having all sides use American symbolism more accurately reflects the actual state of America today--a struggle between different views about how we should structure our country and culture. (11/18)
The America I want to live in is one where we strike a balance between individualism and collectivism that allows for all people to at minimum have their basic survival, physiological, and safety needs met, so that everyone has what is sadly currently a luxury. (12/18)
It's a luxury to not need to worry about how we are going to get our next meal, whether we will have a roof over our heads tomorrow, or whether we are going to be the victim of violence. (13/18)
In my opinion, this balance would mean that America has more potential to actually be able to live up the Declaration of Independence, which says that that all are created equal, and all have the right to the preservation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (14/18)
As an American, I want the American flag and American symbolism to represent what I believe too. Because of this, I am going to experiment with taking ownership of American symbolism. (15/18)
The US formed because the colonies endured a long train of abuses and believed that it was their right/duty to abolish the existing governing system and institute a new one with a foundation that supports the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (16/18)
The US formed through the fight for freedom from deep and intransient oppression, and in this sense I think it is appropriate and patriotic to use American symbolism to fight for the freedom from the deep and intransient oppression of 400 years of racism. (17/18)
So like the US embassy in Seoul, let's make it known that the American, patriotic thing to do is to move towards creating a country where #BlackLivesMatter and #BlackTransLivesMatter. (18/18)
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