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A flag rises.
A torch glows.
Fireworks burst over a crowd.
A dome shines.
An eagle spreads its wings.
A song begins, and thousands of bodies stand as one.
The nation appears to itself.
That is the first thing to understand: AmericaAmerica — Band / ArtistAmerica is the band whose debut album includes the song “Sandman.”Read full entry → is not only a territory, a government, a legal order, a military power, a marketplace, or a history. America is also an image. A public self. A radiant story a people tells itself about freedom, destiny, innocence, power, escape, and rebirth.
The image is not automatically false.
A nation needs symbols. A people needs memory. A flag can gather grief. A song can carry sacrifice. A torch can welcome the stranger. A monument can help the living remember…
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