The 505 High Middle Low

Write: In Ch. 8 Lanham writes of the low, middle, and high styles of writing, as did Yagoda in Sound Ch. 2. Using Lanham and Yagoda as guides, compose an original piece of nonfiction prose of 500-750 words in one of the three styles mentioned. Then revise the piece to reflect the remaining two styles. For example, if you compose something in a middle style, revise it to also reflect a low and high style. Submit all three styles.

High Style

Kneel before the cross, salute the flag, curtsy before your queen, press the constituent flesh, put your hand over your heart…and “let us bow our heads.”

Symbols matter. Gestures matter. It is axiomatic almost to the point of pedantic to aver that symbols and gestures matter. The wielding power of symbols and gestures no doubt predates cities. Symbols and gestures are necessary conditions for civilization as known.
Symbols can be rallied around; they can accumulate sentiment and broadcast what exactly is at stake, what is cared about, and what is aspired to, for multitudes of populations.

Envision the iconic picture of the flag planting at Iwo Jima. The picture now a symbol: the flag a symbol dating to the seventeenth century.

Gestures can signify profound respect: a stiff-armed salute, crisp and snapped required for your superior officer, a curtsy for the queen to let her know her, and your, status, a genuflection to your opponent...all of them important, symbolic of. The lack of a gesture can signify profound disrespect, abasement, inequality, elitism, carelessness, meaninglessness, even nihilism in the eyes of some.

Symbols and gestures, or their lack, have real-world consequences. If you doubt this veracity, spit on the bible in front of the local parish, burn a flag outside the local municipal building, or draw a swastika on outgoing mail.

Many citizens were profoundly offended by some players’ lack of gesture during the playing of the national anthem before NFL games. The anthem a powerful symbol of perilous fight and proof that our flag, was and is still there. No this is tantamount to treason. Rise, Rise, Rise for the playing of our national anthem. Disrespectful to the nth degree to not.

If the philosophers are correct, and the adage is true, that they ask good questions, then it must be queried:

Which symbols? Which gestures?

There is no consensus. There is no critical mass of one way or the other to render the answer, or even orientate in the right direction.

How much power should the symbols and gestures wield? What are the consequences for not recognizing, for not showing the proper respect? Flag burning is the moral equivalent of lighting a person on fire though any country’s flag is an inanimate object like any other, be it a colored sheet, pair of pants, or doormat that reads “go away.”

Philosophical analysis deduces that gestures and symbols are given power only though human behavior only in the form of collective, conscious agreement. Consider currency is a mere symbol - cash toted in billfolds is essentially paper with more symbols printed upon - pyramid, eye, eagle, latinate. The debit card numbers mere abstractions -ones and zeroes on the digital conveyor belt from one computer to another, but both allow the purchase of tangible materials, like Fourth of July flags or mini statues of liberty. The meaning/power assigned to gestures and symbols has the necessary and sufficient condition of agreement. Humans don’t agree to an asp as symbolic of peace or a denim rectangle at half-staff as deserving of a salute. They could.

The authentic danger isn’t symbols or gestures, it is equating. Follow the gestures and the symbols to a “t’ and one may be equated with mindless, soul-dead, conformists praying for anyone to pry their guns from their cold dead hands; fail to follow and one is equated with the slippery slope to socialism and the loss of tradition and all that is patriotic and everything “we” stand for.

This equating is roundly fallacious; the excluded middle is a menu of many possible symbols and gestures to abide by and with, just as there are virtually an infinite number of ways to say or gesture hello. Personal liberty is a noble ideal but failing to “properly” gesture doesn’t imply one isn’t a proponent of liberty; not having a choice to not gesture is the very antithesis of the personal liberty ideal.

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Low style

Kneel before the cross! Salute the flag!

It’s so obvious that symbols and gestures are important. It couldn’t be more obvious. Their power is seen everywhere you look. Symbols and gestures make it easier for us to understand who is with us and who is against us, or at least, not with us. The Nikes on yall’s feet are a symbol of yall’s brand loyalty. Just do it!
Symbols, and even brand logos, stand for something. They tell others what we’re about, what we stand for, what’s up basically.

The ‘merican flag was planted at that Iwo Jima, not corn.

Gestures show respect: a man hug for your boys, a “sir, yes sir” whenever you talk to a cop, an ice-cold stare on the hoop court to let ballers know what’s up. All of these are important ways of letting them know...that you know. But not doing this stuff is also important. Don’t forget your “sir, yes sir” for the cops and don’t forget to man-hug your uncle at thanksgiving because forgetting is dissing.

So these symbols and gestures are a matter of cred in a sense - owed or given or not! If you doubt me on this, I dare you to spit on the bible outside your church, burn a ‘merican flag outside the po-po department, or graffiti one of them German signs under a bridge.

Think of all those people that went bat-shit crazy when those NFL players knelt during the anthem. People lost it! You know some of them got death threats. That’s how seriously some people take kneeling during a song! It’s funny because the anthem is nothing but a symbol - a song symbol but still a symbol. Just read the words: and the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that our flag (symbol alert!) was still there. Some folk took it personally when Kap kneeled, like he was personally disrespecting them.

I wonder though, who decides which symbols and which gestures. Was there a vote on this? Cuz I didn’t get a memo.

Besides, not everyone agrees, some want this one some want that one. Even if a bunch of people agreed, they might change their mind depending on which way the wind is blowing that day.  

And how did these things get so much power that people would lose their mind if someone kneeled during a song? It’s against the law to burn a ‘merican flag but a flag is no different from a sheet or some pants and it’s ok to burn them. Why?

But when you think about it, gestures and symbols only have power because we give them power, when we all of a sudden say ok, the flag is the so-called symbol of liberty. The money in yall’s wallet is just paper. Burns just like any other paper. But only a fool would burn money because we all decided we can buy shit with that paper. They used to use silver but what the hell is anyone going to do with silver but wear it? Unless we all decide that silver is valuable. A credit card is nothing but ones and zeros in a computer but you can use it to buy silver if you want. The point is that we all have to agree on this stuff for it to work. One disagreement throws a monkey wrench into the whole system. We could decide on a snake instead of the bald eagle or a pair of jeans for the flag - as long as we all agreed. We don’t but we could.

The problem isn’t symbols or gestures, it’s when people lump anyone who doesn’t follow their symbols and their gestures as haters or un ’merican. Or we lump the followers as rednecks and white trash and think they want to bring back slavery. This is the problem. It’s like you have to be one or the other. No in-between.

Just seems to me that it’s a lot like ordering food off a menu. Just because you like chicken and I like burgers doesn’t mean either one of us is un ’merican or a commie. Don’t eskimos have like a million words for snow? Why can’t we have a million symbols or gestures without people going nuts if we all have our choice?

Just my two cents.

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Middle Style (transparent)

You may have heard phrases such as salute the flag, put your hand over your heart, and let us bow our heads.

These show that symbols and gestures matter. They matter a lot in fact. Symbols and gestures carry power that makes it possible for us to quickly communicate matters such as respect, rank, and loyalty to name a few -all very important concepts for large numbers of people trying to live and work together. Symbols can rally people around an ideal and display values for all to see.

Just think about the picture of the flag planting at Iwo Jima and the emotion that stirs.

Gestures can signify respect: a salute for an officer, a curtsy for a queen, a bow to an opponent. These show respect. Similarly, the lack of a gesture can signify disrespect. Consider someone not standing for the national anthem.

Acknowledging and abiding symbols and gestures, or failing to, carries consequences. If you doubt this, consider someone spitting on the bible or burning a flag or drawing a swastika on outgoing mail. What is your initial reaction?

Many were offended when some NFL players knelt during the playing of the national anthem. The anthem a powerful symbol of perilous fight and proof that our flag, another symbol, was and is still there. This was considered so disrespectful by some that the president weighed in on the matter.

Perhaps it bears asking which symbols and which gestures are the ones everyone needs to adhere to.

There is no consensus. It depends on whom you ask and maybe even when you ask.

How much power should symbols and gestures carry? What should the consequences be for not recognizing, for not showing the proper respect? Should the president be weighing in on gestures? Consider that flag burning is taboo even though the flag is an inanimate object: like a sheet, pants, or doormat.

Giving it thought, gestures and symbols carry power only though our shared agreement that they matter. Currency is really a symbol - green paper with more symbols printed on it. Debit card numbers are digital ones and zeroes traveling from one computer to another. But because of shared agreement, they permit the purchase of tangible materials, like sheets, pants, and doormats. The power that gestures and symbols carry requires agreement. We don’t agree to a snake as symbolic of peace or a denim rectangle at half-staff as deserving of a salute. But they could. If we agreed.

The problem isn’t symbols or gestures, it’s equating. Equating those who are symbol/gesture regimented with the true americans and equating those who fail to follow along as un-american.  

This kind of equating is taking generalization too far. It isn’t an either/or. Just as there are many ways to say or gesture hello, there are many ways to be american. Personal liberty is the american ideal and failing to kneel during a song doesn’t make one suddenly unamerican. Not having a choice is unamerican.

Choose wisely.