Symbolism.

This past week, we have been discussing a lot about symbols; ones that are important to us versus ones that are important to our major. As we outline our altar projects, we explore the significance of them. Symbols in general are used very frequently in our society, whether it be some association, group, league, organization or club. They are used to represent something other than what they appear to be. They represent events, places, people, groups and ideologies.

We use symbols very often, more than we actually realize... like metaphors! A metaphor expresses something unfamiliar in terms of something familiar. For example, "having a broken heart." You wouldn't think that just because a person's heart isn't literally broken in two that they're not experiencing any emotional pain. The untrue assumption that if an image isn't factually true, then the idea it represents must also be false. Likewise, from our reading in Material Christianity by Colleen McDannel, the author proposes that in Christian faith there are ideas that have been represented by all means of fictitious imagery. Some of it is for sure metaphorical; and some of it is reprehensibly literal. But the question of whether these images are just simply metaphors or literal descriptions of fantastical facts is a question completely separate from whether the ideas that the images represent are true.

Something important to me AND my major would be my degree. A degree, to me, symbolizes an education, career-orientation, focus, drive, motivation, and ambition. It also symbolizes an advantage. It's important to me because when my future employer looks at my resume and sees that I have a degree, I am for sure going to be getting the job over the other guy who doesn’t have a degree. Having a degree symbolizes the extra million dollar that I will be making versus not having one.

"According to the Census Bureau, over an adult's working life, high school graduates earn an average of $1.2 million; associate's degree holders earn about $1.6 million; and bachelor's degree holders earn about $2.1 million (Day and Newburger, 2002). A number of studies have shown a high correlation between higher education and cultural and family values, and economic growth. According to Elchanan Cohn and Terry Geske (1992), there is the tendency for more highly educated women to spend more time with their children; these women tend to use this time to better prepare their children for the future. Cohn and Geske (1992) report that "college graduates appear to have a more optimistic view of their past and future personal progress." Public benefits of attending college include increased tax revenues, greater workplace productivity, increased consumption, increased workforce flexibility, and decreased reliance on government financial support (Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1998)." (http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-3/value.htm)

...So does that mean that our failing economy may be symbolizing that we're not doing something right??