Weighing in: The American Flag and the Bald Eagle

Americans national symbols

The comparison of two American revered icons came to my attention when the LA Times ran two seemingly unrelated stories: the American Flag and the Bald Eagle.

The first article was about war veterans protesting the possible sale of the Veterans Administration property to private developers. Originally the land was a gifted with the stipulation it be used for public purpose. In protest Veterans turned the American Flag upside down, an international signal of distress. Instead of receiving their signal, the government arrested the Veterans for “desecrating” the American Flag. Ignoring the well-established symbolism, outrage over the mistreatment of the flag was used to stop the veterans’ peaceful protest.

A second article reported on the re-appropriation of a 200 acre forest for the expansion of the Office of Homeland Security. Ironically, this forest is home to the first bald eagle nesting pain to locate near the capitol in years. Currently, there is little government discussion of protecting the forest essential for this living American symbol.

The different reaction to these two symbols reflects the unconscious values of our culture. We do not support the maintenance of the living systems that allow a living symbol of American freedom to flourish in the same way as we protest the perceived desecration of the symbol of our flag. The icon of the bald eagle flying free near our capitol does not carry the same symbolic weight as the flag.

To be “the land of the free and the home of the brave is to become sensitive to the innate impulse to freedom expressed in the world around you; it is to understand the right of our veterans to express and articulate their point of view. To truly practice freedom is to protect wildness and to understand that wilderness inherently reflects our own sense of freedom within ourselves. It is our adherence to the principles of freedom that has the power to keep our land secure.

If we forget to honor our living symbols, I fear we will see more examples of symbols manipulated to suppress freedom of expression, as in the example of the Vets and the Flag. We seem so ready to fight for the idea of freedom as expressed in our flag but seem to relish sacrificing the living symbols of America’s greatness. I fear we cherish the idea of freedom more than the nitty-gritty physical reality of what it takes to be free. I pray America connects with the bald eagle deeply enough to protect it with the same fervor we protect the American Flag.