The United Symbolism of America: Deciphering Hidden Meanings in America's Most Familiar Art, Architecture, and Logos

This is a really interesting book. Unfortunately, I lost it on a plane. I will definitely order another copy.

If the huge popularity of the _Da Vinci Code_ did nothing else, it showed how characters in a novel could become obsessed with obscure signs and symbols that had some grandly important but secret meaning. It doesn't take characters in a novel to do so, however, as has been shown by many of Dan Brown's readers who went on to retrace the paths of the characters and see the signs for themselves. For millennia, people have been making symbols, and gaining strength, unity, and purpose thereby; and for just as long, I suppose, people have been taking symbols the wrong way, and sometimes deliberately misinterpreting them. People declaiming Satanists, the Freemasons, the Knights Templar, the Illuminati, Bohemian Grove, Rosicrucians, or the International Jewish Conspiracy seem at times quite eager to latch onto the hidden meanings that can be found in, say, our national Great Seal or even the map of Washington, D.C. Robert Hieronimus has spent years researching such hidden meanings, and refreshingly, he does not deny that the hidden meanings are there. In _The United Symbolism of America: Deciphering Hidden Meanings in America's Most Familiar Art, Architecture, and Logos_ (New Page Books), he looks at familiar symbols and shows how our Founding Fathers and others used them to good purpose, and how the cranks and kooks have been able to subvert them to absurd ends. Repeatedly Hieronimus shows how interpreters he calls "fundamentalist-conspiratorialists" get their interpretations wrong, but they do so deliberately. They are "a sub-group of the religious right that believes everything that does not fit their strict definition of `Christian' is _a priori_ therefore `of Satan'". Take, for instance, the reverse of our satanic Great Seal. You have seen it plenty of times; it's on the dollar bill, and features that strange truncated pyramid capped with the eye in a triangle. Over and over in this book, Hieronimus demonstrates the proposition that what is strange symbolism to us was much better understood two hundred years ago. The strange pyramid and "all-seeing eye" were chosen for the seal not because they were occult or obscure, but because they were popular symbols, well understood at the time. Hieronimus shows examples of, for instance, the pyramid and the eye being used on money or church decorations long before they were put on the seal. The eye was the eye of God, of course, and the pyramid was a familiar symbol of endurance and unity. The seal was cobbled together, but it marked the first time that the eye and pyramid were placed together in this way, with a satisfying show of the spiritual and the earthly. The conspiratorialists who hate the Freemasons (and their hatred has gone back for centuries) insist that these are Masonic symbols that have been devilishly foisted upon our currency. Like everyone else at the time, the Freemasons knew the symbols of the eye and the pyramid, and used them in their own ways, but that is merely because

America is a country founded upon principles. Principles focusing on the freedoms of every man, woman and child who proudly call themselves an American. The symbols that our founding fathers used to represent these principles are evident in almost every building, statue and even city street layouts. After reading this book, you will see how important these symbols are and how they have the ability to reach people on truly countless levels. The author does an excellent job at discounting the Freemason ties that some conspiracy theorists like to ascribe to nearly anything that fits their agenda; as well as presenting much more believable, historically validated meanings behind these symbols. This book is an easy read and is quite exciting!

I was lucky enough to get an early copy via a friend. If you are interested in the U.S., history, art, culture, or politics you will find so much written here that will illuminate, inform and inspire - not just citizens of the U.S. but anyone interested in what the United States represents and symbolizes to many around the world. And, especially pertinent to these times, Dr. Hieronimus and Ms Cortner reveal how the radical new vision, hope and wisdom of our country's founders informed our most potent seals, statues, monuments and icons. There's a lot to be proud of - and a lot that we need to reclaim, or should I say, that can help us revive the best values that not just citizens of the USA know and love, but citizens of the world can be inspired by as well.

I really enjoyed this book. Read it right through in one sitting, and am still returning to various sections. Especially enjoy the emphasis on the feminine archetype as seen in many symbols, where the land of opportunity means we will find balance between male and female in all things. Hieronimus says our symbols give hope that Americans can rise above the way things always have been. We have the choice to enjoy freedom in this country, but we also have the responsibility to protect it. Highly recommended and motivating.