| Comment | It really isn't. Let's take a nicely placed counter example: the star-spangled banner. Created to represent the creation of a country in which religious freedom could be practised away from the influence of the British monarchy and state control (other definitions may vary). To many all over the world, the ultimate symbol of freedom, democracy and the opportunity to improve one's standing through sheer will. America.
To Native Americans, the unwanted intrusion into and subsequent domination of their lands, including the theft of their resources and the rape and slaughter of their people, and the end of their millenia-old way of life by the incoming white man. Who is anyone to deny either the millions (billions?) of people who see the US flag as the ultimate symbol of hope, or the indigenous peoples most deeply and devastatingly impacted by the emergence of the colonies and early nation-state and how they may differ in their perspective on the stars and stripes? |
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