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Quite symbolic, this one was.
Thanks, san, for seeing the symbolism. I actually visited the site of Andersonville a couple years back. It is a national park, you know. A monument of sorts, and I was struck by the symbolism, struck by the kinds of things that, for good or bad, really forge the collective heritage and psyche of a nation.
Well, you know, myths 'n all, gotta have 'em.
Well yes, but the pain, too. I think nations develop like people, and if you want to truly understand one, you have to understand its past.
Part and parcel, my friend, part and parcel. I would imagine a great myth necessarily requires some pain and the occasional suffering as mortar that cements the nation’s symbols. You know, to create that lasting effect (or an illusion thereof). I guess scars just add a little more character, and perhaps something to work with. All necessary ingredients (these components/constituents) towards an identity.
Hmm…I sense a whiff of cynicism, an underlying hint that maybe the myths are greater than the realities. To which I suppose I have to agree. That’s the nature of myth of course. But that doesn’t make the scars any less real.
Interesting choice of the word “constituent” which you use in coincidence (or maybe not, I wouldn’t for a second put it past you), with how I have used it in another way around here someplace. Yes, I’m a contradiction, just in case you were wondering. A man who dearly values his independence but also feels the nation’s collective identity coursing through his American blood and is proud to be a part of it. I’m working through it. I love my country, and I hate my country.