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“I hope in the future Americans are thought of as a warlike, vicious people because I bet a lot of high schools would pick ‘Americans’ as their mascot.” —Jack Handey, “Deep Thoughts”
Wewastevastamountsoftimeandenergyarguingoversymbols,emblems,mascots,andvariousformsofartisticrepresentation.Onboththeleftandtheright,ourmostpassionatemembersgetsuckedintothesilliestofdebates:FromrenamingbuildingstopolicingpronounstothesexlivesofMattelproducts,thesearethesortsofgrandstandingcontroversiesthatmakeallparticipantslooklikekooks.Sure,itexcitesmembersofyourbasewhoareonthecarnivorediet(subsistingsolelyon“redmeat”),butnothingsubstantialiseveraccomplished.
Attackingsymbolsiseasy.Solvingproblemsishard.
Thisiswhyit’ssuchapopularpastimeforhacksontheleftandtheright:It’sallspectacleandnosubstance.Purefireworks;zerowarmth.
It’sdebateforthesakeofdebate.
Becausesymbolsaremalleable.Theycanmeanwhateveryouwantwheneveryouwant—andyou’realwaysfreetochangeyourmind.
Andwedochangeourmind:Symbolschangeovertime.
