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SHU's VIEWS by JIM CARROLL |
ColumnsRiverboat Gambling - Ferry-Style "MY grandbabies are more miraculous than YOUR grandbabies!" |
Style vs. Substance? No contest.
posted 08/14/2008 The United States is among those countries who have a National Bird, and most of us learn about him at an early age. The bald eagle adorns our national seal, our presidential seal, and our currency. He holds an olive branch in one set of talons, and thirteen arrows in the other, symbolizing our desire for peace and our willingness to fight for our rights. It is notable that until 1945, the eagle on the presidential seal faced left, toward the bundle of arrows in the talons on that side. On October 25 of that year, President Truman wrote an executive order directing that the seal be changed so that the eagle faced to the right, saying: "In the new Coat of Arms, Seal and Flag, the Eagle not only faces to its right – the direction of honor – but also toward the olive branches of peace which it holds in its right talon. Formerly the eagle faced toward the arrows in its left talon – arrows, symbolic of war." We have become so used to the eagle as our national symbol, that many of us may not know that there was some disagreement over its selection. Some suggest that a debate occurred over the representation of a "National Bird" on the Great Seal of the United States. Much has been said about Thomas Jefferson's recommendation of the bald eagle, and it is said that Benjamin Franklin argued for the wild turkey. My brief research reveals that Franklin expressed his clearest feelings on this subject not in a heated floor debate, but in a letter to his daughter, an excerpt from which reads: "For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him. "With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country... "I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain &silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on." Franklin's point is well taken. Most of us in the region have experience with the bald eagle. While beautiful in appearance and flight and with, doubtless, other redeeming virtues, they can be a bit disgusting as Franklin suggests. I have watched bald eagles observe creeks jammed with spawning salmon in Juneau and seen them calmly walking around and picking the eyes out of the struggling fish in the gravel shallows. As a carnivore I respect the fact that some bits of some animals are “delicacies”, but this seems a bit wanton and wasteful even to me. I wish I could say that it is an image which poorly represents the actions of my nation on the world stage. Sadly, there are numerous instances of government-sanctioned, and/or corporate-conducted behavior in many parts of the emerging world that suggest that perhaps this image is well chosen. One hopes that Jefferson was thinking of other eagle-ish traits. As to the turkey, we must remember that the bird which Franklin preferred as a national symbol was the Eastern Wild Turkey – a fellow of myriad admirable talents and abilities. Unlike his domesticated and genetically modified cousin, the one most of us know as the centerpiece of our holiday feasts, the wild turkey is considered one of the wiliest and most capable adversaries of the hunter. Commonly able to fly at 50 miles per hour at low level in hardwood forests, and able to run 20 mph on the ground, the wild turkey is an intelligent and formidable creature. He forages for his largely vegetarian menu and supplements with insects as seasons demand. His PR problem is that, unlike the bald eagle, he is not particularly handsome. The wild turkey also suffers from the reputation of his distant cousin, the domestic turkey, who sets the standard for stupid in the bird world albeit through no fault of his own. Caged and scientifically bred for countless generations, the bird has been engineered to be flightless, listless, and clueless. His primary objective in life, as modified by his creators, is to grow huge breasts quickly. I cannot help but notice parallels to certain other manufactured darlings of our current culture. Baywatch is still in syndication, and Playboy is still on the news stands. Image is all. The "look" is more important than the vision. The "sizzle" is more important than the steak. Big breasts sell some talentless turkeys, in Hollywood as well as at the local meat counter. The talking heads insist that our President and our Presidential candidates "look presidential" and "sound presidential" while often excusing or completely overlooking acts and omissions which, if brought into the full light of public scrutiny, would reveal far more of the character and intent of the person. We have been carefully led down the path of accepting the photo op or the sound bite as representative of all else that has occurred, and we have proven ourselves too busy or too lazy to be bothered with the truth. No wonder we so often end up with turkeys at the helm, and also no surprise that they are of the carefully crafted and attractively packaged domestic strain.
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