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i read this and thought of you.
please comment.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) stood in the front rank of the people who built the United States. He was the only person who signed all four of these key documents in American history:
the Declaration of Independence
the Treaty of Alliance
the Treaty of Peace with Great Britain
the Constitution of the United States
Aside from going down in history as a great printer, publisher, scientist, inventor, public servant, statesman, diplomat and philanthropist, he is also remembered for his wise sayings, such as:
"Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
But how many people know what his opinion was on the symbol chosen for the Great Seal of the United States?
Here's what he wrote in a letter to his daughter on January 26, 1784:
"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 Americans who have driven all the King Birds from our Country...
...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 and 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."
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Watch out for those turkeys then hypo...
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<Illuminati enters his flame-proof bunker, waiting for the fireworks> :unsure:
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I think the Bald eagles a scavenger too...
However since when has a representative creature ever made sense?
Australians dont all Jump up and down and are generally lousy boxers (Kangaroo)
New Zealand is not renouned for its Track Athletes (Emu)
Mind, us Brits are a bunch of Ugly motherfuckers (Bulldog) ;) .....or would you go for our other animals? Lion (Lazy, sexist and a coward outside his Pride) or Unicorn (mythical, innocent and virginal)
A Symbol is just that....characterises what you WANT to characterise.
In this case "Free"
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Yes, which bird symbolizes freedom better?
http://www.saukcounty.com/images/eagle3.gif or http://www.boylesteaks.com/assets/images/Turkey.gif
I think if we had used the turkey to symbolize the US, the world would have thought we stood for "Delicious!" (though sometimes a little dry)
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its interesting how at one point the bald eagle almost became extinct..
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You have got to love the national mascot Paparazzi!
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You probably might have guessed that I have seen many bald eagles (it so happens there are MANY in the area I live), and, apart from the fact my country has chosen the bald eagle as it's symbol, I must say it's appearance is nothing short of majestic, in all cases such as I have seen.
I'd bet you'd never have guessed that I have been attacked (on two occasions, no less) by wild turkeys-no lie.
While I don't discount the distaste and disgust one might feel watching the bald eagle steal food from a physically inferior bird, I must also say that when I fantasize about, say, Catherine Zeta-Jones, I don't trouble myself to imagine her wiping her ass.
Just the same, though, now, I can hear old Ben's voice, echoing down the centuries:
You STUPID Bastards!!!!
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Or, "Baste constantly" :lol: :lol:
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http://www.chinkii.com/uploads/album/misc/w.jpg
Power, Freedom and Dignity.
That's what I see when I gaze upon the Bald Eagle.
I think they were going after a look rather than what the creature does for a living.
Aside from that I think I prefer the Spread Eagle.
http://www.chinkii.com/uploads/album/misc/ww.jpg