Gratuitous Symbolism

Posted by Twelvebit (Victoria, United States) on 3 January 2008 in Lifestyle & Culture.

I remember when one flag was enough to signify a government building. I think the sheer gratuitousness of this many flags (and many more are outside the frame) tips the symbolism away from patriotic pride and over into something more like Shamanism and the gauche and self-serviing promotionalism of used car salesmen and sleezy politicians (and these days any other variety forms a distinct and very small minority). Using flags like this is something like using a talisman to ward off evil spirits. It seems more like a product of uncertainty or a lack of confidence than a demonstration of real pride --or perhaps just a display of plain old zealotry. Then again, maybe it's just a manifestation of materialism, and the usually unspoken belief of so many that having more of something visible --more things or more money to buy them with-- makes you better than those with less. More flags make you more patriotic and having more money means you must be smarter or more worthy than someone with less, and thus, there are no inequities in our society that need be eliminated, just people who are more or less worthy and deserving.

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