Pissing on Lady Liberty

It's a turf thing. They gotta mark 'their' territory. Gotta tear down that other tribe's stuff and replace it with the latest from the tribe-o-the-fish.

Ok, so church pisses away $260,000, film at 11. Nothing new in that. No story there- happens all the time. Except this story is just a bit different.

It seems Memphis, TN's own 12,000 member "World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church" has become the construction site for the soon to be unveiled (today, July 4th, naturally) "Statue of Liberation through Christ" aka "The Christian Statue of Liberty" or "Lord's Lady Liberty".

Nope, apparently secular interpretations of the word "liberty" and symbols thereof, such as France's nice gift are to be rejected, replaced instead with SCRIPTURAL interpretations of the word "liberty"- as has 'kindly' been spelled out for us here, on the as of yet rather skeletal version of a webpage about the monstrosity.

Or use the slightly different take over on a link off the World Overcomers page.

Apparently we don't need to lift a light of welcome to the world's tired and poor, we just need bigger and better big green witnessing tools to 'em.

Consider it yet further evidence that certain christians here in America can't stand this nation, our definition of liberty as tied to actual human experience, or our national symbols as they currently stand. Nope they feel the need to scrawl their gang markings all over anything with even a whiff of 'godlessness'.

In what will no doubt become an endless string of articles about the eyesore, here is but one recent example.

Note that long before the full official website hits, the souvenir rights to the image and trademark are well secured, 'cause we all know there's a lucrative market for tchotchkees for christ- now that they've cleared the space above their mantle of any 'foreign gods', 'goddesses' or 'idols', like say, for example, any REAL statue of Liberty mementos.

But on the upside, hey, we don't need to fear 'terrorists' blowing up that ole statue there in New York. Nope, Biblical Americans (those advocating A Biblical America, one where their interpretation of the bible forms the sole basis for all social and governmental interactions) have already done such a fine job of trying to wipe the real Statue of Liberty from the hearts and minds of as many Americans as possible.

So now it's official kids, for some in America, the Lady's torch has been put out, replaced by what has come to mean nothing more than yet another corporate service mark, a cross.

Golden Arches™, Golden Corral™, Golden Cross™, further littering up the American landscape.

Meanwhile, liberty, genuine liberty in America continues to be lost.

•  real image

  Could I make this shit up?

  by stormcoming on Mon Jul 03, 2006 at 10:12:57 PM PDT

•  What I don't get is

  The statue's famous inscription -- "Give me your tired, your poor ..." -- has been replaced with Roman numerals representing the Ten Commandments.

  What more open and welcoming is "Give me your tired, your poor..."

  You don't need ten commandments. We accepted the tired, the poor, the persecuted, the forsaken, the dreamers, and we built an incredibly country upon the principal of universal acceptance (in theory!!). That's what is so beautiful about our country. We will accept all, and light the torch of liberty in their hearts, so that each individual has a chance to strive for to their full potential. No commandments needed there.

  by iliketodrum on Mon Jul 03, 2006 at 10:23:03 PM PDT

  •  LOL

    They probably couldnt afford to actually engrave all 10

    by naufragus on Mon Jul 03, 2006 at 10:45:49 PM PDT

•  Obscene. What next? Maybe...

  ...I can imagine:

  • George Washington burning witches at the stake.
  • Ben Franklin exorcising demons.
  • Abe Lincoln emancipating the fetus's.

  by daulton on Mon Jul 03, 2006 at 11:25:49 PM PDT

•  I keep coming back to this picture

  and everytime I see it I feel like I am hit by a truck, and I am a European.

  As a foreigner one of the first images that would come to my mind if someone would say America to me is the image of the Statue of Liberty at the entrance of the USA. As someone who has been studying C.G. Jung's work for years now, I have thought about what the Statue of Liberty means intelectually. But I never realized how much this symbol means at a gut level, the only level that realy counts when it comes to symbolisme.

  The Statue of Liberty which immediatly tells you let me guide you in finding your way and this atrocity which to me feels like a stop sign and symbolizes the direct opposite of the real thing.

  As a Jung fan I would like to know from other people how they experience this picture. Does it hit you in the gut like it does me, or do you just see it as another display of the lunatic right?    

  by amsterdam on Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 12:01:30 AM PDT

  •  Images, meanings, and exclusion

    Despite what some may view as my dismissive tone, I am in no way dismissive of this nor its implications. This is not just some other display of the lunatic right.

    This is perhaps THE visual that should go alongside modern American uses, such as George W. Bush's notions of "liberty", as for many Americans liberty without christ- and christendom has become an oxymoron- no such thing.

    For those of us un-godly in the midst of all this (or those deemed some 'wrong version' of godly) this is nothing less than a word grab, it's by thier own words, a redefintion.

    Then there's the ugly matter not just of rewording, but of re-envisioning who the statue is about.

    Upon the Statue of Liberty a plaque was later added in 1903, it was inscribed with two lines from a poem, "The New Colossus", by
    the nineteenth-century American poet Emma Lazarus:

    "Give me your tired, your poor,
    Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
    The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
    Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
    I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

    Whereas inscribed upon this so called "Statue of Liberation" you get treated to this;

    "Give me your POOR, BROKENHEARTED Your CAPTURED, BLIND, AND BRUISED Your huddled MULTITUDES
    yearning to be free;
    The wretched LOST SOULS from shore to shore, Send these,
    the SICK, OPPRESSED, HOMELESS
    The tempest LOST to Christ.
    I lift the cross as a symbol
    that CHRIST IS THE DOOR.

    (Luke 4:18, John 8:32b, Romans 7:24, Acts 10:38, 2 Corinthians 4:3, John 10:9)"

    One really has to ask whether "from shore to shore" in the latter applies to peoples throughout the world, or has been reduced to those within the boundries of America, from our eastern shore to our western shore? The ambiguity in that really points to yet another deep posible shift in the very essence of the Statue's intended audience.

    Americans are a people to whom immigration, and the legacy of immigration IS our story- almost all our story. To "desecrate" such a symbol of our shared common heritage in a crass attempt to lay unique claim to it by any one subsuculture is to me at least, abhorrent, despicable.

    Yes, the cross- raised flyswatter like, is indeed a 'stop' sign, a 'our tribe only, no others need apply' sign, a raised finger, not merely to the world and other Americans but also to rejecting Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi's vision and the shared French- American history the real Statue of Liberty is steeped in.

    So yes, the picture and particularly the 'new symbolism' on the christian statue (see http://www.worldovercomers.org/... in particular) are viceral level punches to the gut. They betray everything the Statue of Liberty is. The  pedastool is not sumbolic of 'the tomb of christ', it was created through the efforts and contributions of ordinary Americans.

    Those who love our country might want to spend a few minutes here, this July 4th:
    http://www.americanparknetwork.com/...

    So their 'christian liberation only' statue, far from just an eyesore, it's a physical expression of hatred of our shared genuine history.

    by stormcoming on Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 01:45:16 AM PDT

    •  Thanks for your comment

      Another thing that disturbes me is that the cross is held like a weapon. The statue is like a crusader inviting Americans to pick up their weapons and crosses to conquer and subdue what is outside these borders.

      I already posted this in another diary, but in my mind's eye the image of this statue keeps on superimposing itself on the image of lady liberty as she stands in New York harbor.

      How do you think this image resonates with the majority of Americans?

      I think this image is so powerful that it could be catalyst to awaken America.
      On the other hand if Americans would feel comfortable with this image, it would indicate to me that at some level the American psyche has changed so dramatically, that in essence the American spirit as we thought we knew it ceased to exist.

      by amsterdam on Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 05:46:40 AM PDT

      •  just my impression

        Well, the below could be just my impression, but that said, my impression comes from a particular place.

        I've been studying the Biblical American movement here in the US for the past decade with my partner, and was working as an 'activist' of sorts for a good long time before that- working along many different fronts- Queer politics, feminist politics, reproductive autonomy work, environmental work, etc etc. My partner and I have spent a sizeable chunk of the last ten years traveling America by car (well truck, mainly) both along highways and well off the major thoroughfares. We've spent some of that time going into Biblical American events, conferences, street events, bookstores etc etc etc.

        My other major bias going into all this is that I am an artist with a particular interest in installation pieces and what have come to be known here in America as 'roadside peeks'.

        That said, my opinion? The image is upsetting to some of those of us outside, other 'outsiders' will dismiss it, either as another 'nutso display by religious freaks along the highway' (we've got plenty of 'em), or in a few cases, as some kind of actual artistic statement- not a very good one, but perhaps an artist's vision. It will not however, been seen for what it fully is. Even in the other writings I'm seeing on it, there is little to no analyis of tribalism, redefinition, posessive-ism, etc.

        As for those on the inside, I think it will resonate pretty strongly with at least the FRAME they occupy- not neccessarily in the actual execution (they may not like the statue, personally, but they will agree with the symbolism and meanings behind it).

        So no, ultimately, despite this being a wake-up call, and a definite point in the process that's taking place here in this country, I deeply doubt people here will comprehend it.

        As for majority or minority, I'm not sure that's the right question. I think the real question is how does it resonate with those with power and influence, and who would on some level have the power to change our current trajectory- and again, unfortunately, as Biblical Americans views are perhaps disproportionately found in centers of power and influence (as those very places have been specifically targeted BY Biblical Americans over the past few decades).

        For those out of power with little to no influence, well, we diary (among other things)- and it gets very little attention.

        Your last paragraph is key- and dead on. I wish the image could act as a catalyst- if only to alert people to where we now stand (you'll note that this is my first and only diary with a picture attatched.)

        But, yes, I too, am convinced, primarily via my travels that whether people agree or disagree with the image, they are comfortable with the statue. We as a country have changed dramtically.

        And key components of what America has been recognized for, or aspects of what have been pointed to by others as "American Spirit" are now being willingly cast aside without so much as a second thought. "American Spirit" is now little more than a crumpled pack of cigarettes lying amidst the litter by the side of the road. (Where's Snake Plissken when you need him? Sorry, a little "Escape from L.A." reference there.)

        Liberty- and Lady Liberty's lamp are being actively replaced by "liberation" which we are told is only found within one narrow religious construct. Liberty itself is eroding daily.

        As for those of us for whom this statue is a marked point in a process of (what my partner and I have been calling) changing out the hardware to run new software, well, even if we do see it, we don't seem to be able to make much of a dent.

        by stormcoming on Wed Jul 05, 2006 at 12:31:43 AM PDT

        •  but

          is it art?

          by back from the dead on Wed Jul 05, 2006 at 08:17:18 AM PDT

          •  It is propaganda

            See the Wikipedia article on propaganda, it's an interesting read- http://en.wikipedia.org/...

            As for the question of art, it may be art only in the same sense that propaganda posters are.

            by stormcoming on Thu Jul 06, 2006 at 03:01:36 AM PDT