The mail man delivered a confusing Shopko flier to our home last night. There were 22 people of all ages on the cover, all having a grand old time, all wearing the same red theme t- shirt. The shirts bore an American Flag which was framed and covered by a classic white peace sign.
Th caption on the add is what started to bother me. “Show Your Spirit! Picture Your Whole Crew In The Red White and Blue.” Which apparently is supposed to mean The US of A, is a land at peace, where peace is what we’re all about or we wouldn’t all be so jazzed up about having a peace sign framing our flag?
The old hippie in me shakes his head in disbelief.
It’s just another example of the marketing of America. Another place where icons that should mean something, or should remain true to their history, are sloshed together to become part of the big lie.
Like it or not, we are not a country that is, or has hardly ever been at peace. Putting a peace sign around the stars and stripes is silly, and teaching our kids that the two icons have ever fit into the same space does a disservice to our history.
The peace sign was designed in ’58 for use in a British activist march against nuclear war. The Brit activist Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament also began using the design in ’58. In the early 60′s the American Anti-War movement began using the Peace Sign as their symbol. The symbol stayed with the Anti-War movement as we became flower children. Isn’t it amazing how people change?
But it seems that our kids have forgotten to teach their kids what the peace sign means. We are a nation at war. If you’re for the war, or not seeking peace, honor the symbol of peace for what it stands for and leave the symbol alone.
If you’re going to display the peace sign, like I do, stand up and let people know that we should stop what we’re doing in Iraq and Afghanistan. We should stop trying to be the worlds police force. For once we should give peace a chance.
For those of you who want to say, 9-11, terrorists, we’re all gonna die if we stop fighting…. Swine flu, hurricanes, BP, global warming, we’re all eventually gonna die anyway. The initial portion of this war was justified, but the last few years has been a wast of lives and money. It’s just not right for us to occupy other countries because we’re afraid they might attack us if we don’t.
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. Plus that leaves me a day to spend money elsewhere, so yes, there is money to be made on Sunday.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Untwisted, I couldn’t agree more. War kills innocent people, and a war that is unjustified, used just to save an administration will bring the judgment of god upon the politician and country. Learn what peace is and stand up for it!
Top ↑I’ll need to think more about the example in the post-there’s certainly some truth in it, but there’s also something’s not quite quite right about it. It’s late and I’m dead tired–I’ll revisit again another day.
The general topic reminds me of something I read a couple months ago. The article discussed positive meanings behind the “swastika” before WWII. Post (and during) WWII the swastika is a symbol of evil (to most) so provocative that can easily be used as a weapon by itself.
I was also reminded how much I fell in love with the United States once again not long ago after being overseas for just a few weeks. To be clear, I was made a better man because of the experiences, people I’ve met overseas – along with the new tastes/smells/sights/experiences to name a few.
But soon after returning to the U.S., I have never enjoyed a slice of pizza, sleep, and waking up to using a restroom with a proper interface so much in my life.
So even if I could move all my friends and family with me, there’s still something left. There’s still something about this place that lets me be myself and authentic to a degree that I don’t think I could pull off anywhere else.
Top ↑Unfortunately, America is too often style over substance.
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