Confederate Battle Flag (Symbol)
This is one of the most potent symbols in American history–a symbol of support of slavery, of white supremacy, of states' rights, of rebellion and secession. It had not been brought into the Capitol during the Civil War, but in the January 6th, 2021 insurrection there it was, carried in by a rioter. This was as clear a symbol of the forces of white supremacy trying to assert their power and an attempt to rewrite American history as there ever was.
The Cowboy (Symbol)
The cowboy is a powerful American symbol. It conjures up rugged manliness, individuality, freedom, the frontier, and heroism. It also, Richardson notes, has "antigovernment, racist, and traditionalist" (49) associations. It's no wonder, then, that some Republicans such as Ronald Reagan tried to fashion themselves as modern-day cowboys. They knew what they were suggesting and to whom they were suggesting it.
The Tea Party (Symbol)
The Boston Tea Party, in which enraged colonists tossed British tea into the harbor to demonstrate their antipathy toward oppressive British policies, is the symbol used by the Tea Party of the 2000s to conjure up similar associations of rogue heroism against a tyrannical power. It was also meant to conjure up an ideal, mythologized past that never existed as the contemporary wielders of the symbol saw it.
The Nation (Symbol)
The Republican National Convention of 2020 had to be broadcast online because of the pandemic, and Trump pulled out all the symbolic stops. There were sites that referenced the "Star-Spangled Banner," the White House itself, Christianity, and even Nazism. Every visual and auditory choice made by the campaign was purposeful, clear, and effective—it was a spectacle "all evoking tradition, majesty, and might" (145).
Archie Bunker (Symbol)
Bunker is not just a TV character—he was, and still is, a symbol of an older tradition that was seen as hopelessly racist and retrograde. For a time in the 1970s it seemed like he represented the sort of person who would be left behind as the nation moved toward multiculturalism, but while it did indeed move toward multiculturalism the people who didn't like that and wanted a traditional, white, and hierarchical society harnessed the anger and voting power of the Archie Bunkers to get themselves in office and their agenda passed.
