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Originally Posted by Jaxian  When I look at those pictures, I see people standing on a floormat. The mat in those pictures was dyed red, white and blue in certain areas, but so what? The color of an object makes it sacred? I don't care what colors the thing is; it's still just a floormat.
Of course I believe that everyone should have the freedom to step on whatever doormats they want. Heck, Bush should be able to use the American flag as a dartboard, if he wants. If Bush burned the flag, well that's his property, not mine.
But Bush isn't even trying to disrespect the flag. He isn't burning it. He isn't using it as a dartboard. Instead, the flag in those pictures is not only intended to show respect for the flag, it is intended to honor 9-11. These pictures are not evidence that Bush secretly disrespects America: they're evidence that he respects it.
So exactly what is so disturbing? Is something bad going to happen because Bush stepped on this floormat? Are people going to die? Will freedoms be lost? Will innocent men be imprisoned? No, none of that will happen. | A certain type of symbol is defined on how our culture currently perceives it, as well as its intention behind the symbol. In this case, walking on something, especially a symbol that represents a people or an ideal (in this case the American flag), usually is a sign of disrespect because it is currently our civilization's perception of this act. For instance, in some locations in the world, lets say the Middle East for example, there have been very large paintings of the American flag or President Bush on the ground in certain popular areas of certain cities. These middle eastern countries aren't showing their support for our country or administration; they put them there as a sign of disrespect to us because people are intended to walk on them everyday.
Perhaps the middle finger is a good explanation. You could make the same case that when viewing sticking up your middle finger in a very objective way, you only see something natural: we're all human, and we all have this finger, what is so cosmically wrong about sticking it up? Well its how our culture precieves that finger that makes it wrong, not the actual act of sticking it up. In other words, the acts aren't what are harmful, it is the intention behind them, and how people precieve and react to the events unfolding before them. Bush walking on the American flag can be precieved by many as a sign of desrespect, not that the actual act was disrespectful.
Hmm, I hope I got my point across with that. Quote: |
It would be far more disturbing to see pictures of Bush signing certain bills into law. There are plenty of good reasons to criticize Bush, and there are plenty of images that truly should be causing us to get disturbed. There's no need to make a big deal out of a floormat.
| Agreed. But that doesn't mean we can't just stop and say, "Wow, see there, bush is standing on the American flag." "If you want to achieve peace of mind and happiness, then have faith; if you want to be a disciple of truth, then search" -- Friedrich Nietzsche
Economic Left/Right: -9.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.72 |