The hijacking of words and symbols

Rob Schofield over at NC Policywatch has some interesting observations about the word "freedom":

There have been a lot of attempts by conservative groups in recent years to hijack the "freedom" label. Now is the time for thoughtful North Carolinians to reject these clumsy and simplistic arguments. The truth of the matter is that poverty, environmental degradation and the excesses of corporations pose just as much of a threat to freedom as taxes and government bureaucracy.

Unfortunately, through sheer repetition and some manipulative marketing (usually involving the American flag and/or other patriotic images), the ideological right has made a lot of headway with this tactic. Despite the occasional flap caused by an overmatched dimwit like (Rand) Paul, many people who should know better have come to accept this demonstrably false label for the far right's positions.

I know many on the Left who really don't care if the Right uses and abuses the word "Freedom" or the symbology of the Stars and Stripes. Amongst intellectuals anyway, there is a supposition that such excesses will be viewed by the general public for what they are, merely machinations. But there's more to this than simply the Right "staking a claim" on a few words and images; for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction.

This effort not only seeks to "Americanize" the Right, granting them the 1st Place ribbon in the race to claim the heart of nationalst pride. It also seeks to "de-Americanize" the Left, allowing them to reconstruct us as some sort of "foreign and dangerous" entity which must be opposed.

While these efforts may be (accurately) viewed as clumsy and tasteless, the effects are very real. Sustained (mis)use of symbology creeps up from the sublime to impact our value judgments, and we rarely recognize the change happening.

Consider the "bumper sticker" phenomena. When you see a vehicle sporting an American flag symbol, what's your first assumption as to the political ideology of the driver? Exactly.

As a Progressive who places much more value on substance than form, I find the this low-brow approach to stoking patriotism a monolithic hindrance to true discourse on policy. As a veteran, I am appalled that the casual misuse of our flag can turn villains into heroes and heroes into villains.

But the question is, what do we do about it? I'm not sure we have the luxury of ignoring this problem as we have been.