it seems our lives are filled with symbols - from the stitching on our jeans, the logo on our sweatshirts, the shoes we wear, the little alligator on our pocket. we drape ourselves in symbols. last weekend, the world watched the symbolic ceremony of two young people as they pledged to love one another for the rest of their lives. they exchanged a (single?) symbolic ring and they drove away in a symbolic carriage. they were attended by symbolic horse guards. the whole spectacle was rich with symbolism.
but symbols don't inherently have meaning in and of themselves. we assign meaning to them. and then we, apparently, buy into it wholeheartedly.
another symbolic gesture occurred overnight. the killing of osama bin laden (living in apparent luxury in a far islamabad suburb?!?). and he was the ultimate symbol that stood for all terrorists. but we would do well to remember he wasn't the only one. and we undoubtedly had a hand in imbuing him with such deep symbolic meaning.
6 comments:
Agreed.
What's rarely mentioned anymore was his wealth and how he initially funded militants and future terrorists years before 9/11. The symbolism of who he came to be occurred after the guns were paid for. Basically, he bought himself infamy.
Amen.
I think its a bit suspicious tho....
I can't believe he was living in such comfort... I always imagined him to be hiding in the crude mountains... and wow, what a shock!
mankind has used symbols and symbolic gestures since we started walking upright, possibly before that. while i am certain that this is a very, very tangled web, i don't care. this country (usa) and the world need to know that our president does have a pair and is not afraid to say so. the symbol is dead, a new one will emerge.
I think that you've hit upon a good thought. OBL was a symbol. And while I'm pleased that he is out of the way, I do wonder who [or what] will take his place in our national psyche. Time will answer that one, I suppose.
So tell me about the photo...is it a Stargate?
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