Symbols mean something.
In case you doubt that, think of how many corporations you and I can
identify just by their symbols: golden arches, a long-haired green mermaid, and
two mouse ears. These just a few symbols
that immediately evoke a response and an identification. How about these: a swastika, a burning cross,
a black panther. These, too, are
powerful symbols that also evoke a response.
What determines the impact of these symbols? The answer is context: How has the symbol
been used? Who is identified with the
symbol? What actions are associated with
the symbol? Who is viewing the
symbol? These are the kinds of
contextual questions that give symbols meaning.
Even in Christian theology, symbols are important. A cross on the steeple of a church building
in a European cathedral make evoke a positive response. But, take that same symbol, light it on fire,
and place in the front yard of minority person in the U.S., and that cross has
suddenly become a very different and decidedly negative symbol. Likewise, place a swastika on a totem pole in
ancient Native American culture, and it can evoke a positive sense of history
and of culture. Place upon a red flag
with a skinhead or a Nazi soldier in the background, and the symbol becomes
dark and even terroristic.
The cross has not always been a lauded symbol, by the way. No early Christian would have identified the cross as a positive symbol. It was not until the mid-Fourth Century, a few hundred years after the time of Jesus, that the cross became a key Christian symbol. It was a negative symbol that was for the most part transformed into a positive one. The Confederate flag may have started out as a positive, well-intended symbol, at least for some. But in the last hundred years at least, it has become more and more specifically and intentionally identified with racism, hatred, terrorism, and death. Those who mourn its loss should not blame those of us (yes, I am a Southerner by birth) who now decry it. Rather, they should blame those who have cast such a dark shadow over its symbolism and use.
So, there is a sense in which symbols are neutral, but that
is a very limited sense. The fact is
that symbols take on the meanings of the persons and actions associated with them.
In the U.S., the American flag and most state flags evoke a
sense of encouragement and even solemnity. When most Americans look at the U.S.
flag, we see the faces of family members, some of whom have died in combat,
others who have lived out values that we hold dear as good family members, good
community members, and as positive role models of what we hope the flag and our
nation will represent. However, we as
Americans are keenly aware that even our founders did not always represent the
best aspects of what we hope our flag represents. Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the words, “All
men are created equal,” held slaves, and even had an affair with at least one
of his slaves. His words became symbols
that transcended his behavior; however, the behavior is a historical fact, and
it reminds us that ultimately all symbols fall short of their ideals. Our own American flag has at times been used
by our own government in ways that a majority of Americans would deem unfit. Yet, there is a broader history that
for the most part redeems the value of the American flag, at least for now.
The controversy regarding the Confederate battle flag has
demonstrated that, despite the fact that there are those in the South and
elsewhere who emphasize its purported positive values – liberty, states’
rights, independence, close-knit culture, family, etc. – the negative uses of
this flag have attached themselves on a broader scale to this symbol. Therefore, this symbol’s prevailing meaning,
because of those who have used it as a symbol for things like segregation,
white supremacy, and even terrorist acts, has become negative. In most circles, this flag’s symbolism has
gone the way of the swastika. In
virtually every public instance where integration has been opposed and where
racial prejudice has been justified, unfortunately the Confederate battle flag
has been the leading symbol.
The governor
of South Carolina in the early 1960s flew it to demonstrate his opposition to
what he called “federally imposed integration.”
The state of Mississippi has had governors, legislators, and “White
Citizens Councils” who have brandished it as their leading symbol, all the
while terrorizing African-Americans, Jews, Catholics, and so-called “agitators”
of every race who opposed their march toward segregation and white
supremacy. Every KKK meeting place exalts
the “stars and bars” on an equal or even higher level than any other symbol,
including the cross and the American flag.
When bombs are thrown or shots are fired in racial hatred –
as we saw in Charleston in recent days – the Confederate battle flag is always
nearby.
It is for these reasons that state leaders, both on the Left
and on the Right, have begun to say that the use of this symbol has taken on a
meaning of its own – a meaning that should not represent any state in the
U.S.
Many of us from the South have always insisted that
there are better symbols of what it means to be from a Southern state than a
battle flag that was once raised to defend the promulgation of slavery. For those of us who are Christians, no flag
of any nation is to become an idol worth dying for, since our ultimate loyalty
lies in the person, work, and values of Jesus Christ. In Christ’s Kingdom,
symbols that are stumbling blocks to love, peace, and valuing others can easily
be cast aside if they interfere with the ultimate mission of God. Whatever I am - Texan, Southerner, American, White, Republican, Democrat, etc. - fades deeply into the background in light of my ultimate allegiance to Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.
