Wednesday, June 28, 2006

The symbolic and the real

A Democratic Undergrounder dug up a superb comment by philosopher Alan Watts. (Man, I wish I had had the chance to meet that guy.)
Not long ago, Congress voted, with much patriotic rhetoric, for the imposition of severe penalties upon anyone presuming to burn the flag of the United States. Yet the very Congressmen who passed this law are, by acts of commission or omission, for burning, polluting and plundering the territory the flag is supposed to represent. Therein, they exemplified the peculiar and perhaps fatal fallacy of civilization: the confusion of symbol with reality.
This is the very point I've tried to make many times in private conversation. Being in the arts, I know a thing or two about symbols. And here's the bottom line: In the final analysis, all symbols are meaningless. A symbol represents something else. The thing represented has meaning. The symbol is merely a token, a sign, a mental post-it note. No symbol ever devised -- not the flag of any nation, not the cross, not the crescent, not the pentacle, not the cadacaeus, none of 'em -- has any intrinsic value. Value rests in the thing represented.

What is it with conservatives? Why do they pay homage to mere symbols? In San Diego, right-wingers are arguing about the public display of a cross. Although I suppose the cross ought to stay, I can't bring myself to care much either way. That cross is not THE cross. THE cross had meaning. All of the crosses we see today do not. THE cross was a tangible object erected for the purpose of torture and death. A small metal cross worn around the neck is just decor.

No soldier (in any nation, in all of history) ever died for his flag. Every flag ever sewn was just...material. Throughout history, men have fought for their countries, for their fellow citizens, for their leaders, for ideals, for duty, for honor, for a way of life -- for things that are real. Only a fool would die for a bit of stitching.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're right. That's beautiful. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

They're dealing in code and demagoguery -- and don't give a damn about the symbol. Raising flag-burning every two years is just another way of making "liberals" (and anyone who values the Bill of Rights) squirm. Try explaining a vote against this measure, to the six-pack crowd and the American Legion, in a 30-second commercial.

The real symbol here isn't the flag itself, but the cultural divide, which the right-wing endlessly exploits to remain in power.

Peter of Lone Tree said...

Every day the
has a new quote. Today's is:

"Now that the flag-burning amendment to the Constitution has been shot down once again, can we get serious about an amendment to the Constitution banning desecration of the Constitution?"

Dr.Alistair said...

symbols are what drives our economy. we go after symbols of effort and horde them as if they are real. i am refering to money. everything in modern society is symbolic. what does bmw represent to a middle-aged house wife?
power.
we will never have real power unless we choose it within. many will settle for a representation of it though.

Anonymous said...

I agree wholeheartedly. The NeoCons are all for gleaming generalities devoid of details and would-be patriotic blather devoid of action.

The flag on defines borders to me. What the framers of the Constitution stood for is what I'll fight for. Not a piece of cloth.

Anonymous said...

I feel there should be an amendment to the Constitution which immediately imprisons any President of Vice President who violates any law of the land.

Anonymous said...

Tangential comment...

In the 70's I worked on a blue collar night crew. They had the radio on a rock station hooked to the PA system. Every night at 2 AM they turned the radio dial to a broadcasted Alan Watts lecture.

Jeeze, how things have changed.

notjonathon said...

I met Alan Watts once. I was an undergraduate (must have been around 1960), and he came to talk to us about his experiences with psychedelics. I most remember his description of PHP, but also his eager consumption of alcoholic beverages.

I had done my homework, reading up on Zen Buddhism and the like, but there were really too many of us there to get into anything deep.