We could not miss it as we drank our coffee in Nebraska, California, Wilmington and points beyond. Tens of thousands assembled in South Carolina to protest a flag, a red, white and blue rectangular piece of cloth, a symbol. Symbols connect us through a shared recognition or meaning and experience. They hint of things more profound than themselves, but in time they accrue their own weight. Through symbols we attempt to gain access to what sometimes seems to be inaccessible.
Religious symbols are visible signs of our profound experiences of the holy.
Our particular symbols can bring us to our knees in awe and reverence, while those of another faith may appear ordinary, curious or, even, bizarre. Civic symbols carry similar weight and power. The Confederate flag is a symbol of one the deepest wounds in American history. For many it evokes slavery and the burden of racism that continues to plague American culture and society. It recalls that bleak time in our past in which the denial of the full humanity of African Americans diminished the humanity of us all.