Little Oaths Of Loyalty

Remember the Whiz Quiz? They still do that don't they? You know, all that drug-free workplace stuff government funded and business implemented. What Fourth Amendment?

Then came wave after wave of progressive dogma. Safe spaces. Trigger warnings. Pronoun of the moment (smart folks settled on "it"). Political correctness. Heckler vetoes. The chill of self-censorship. All leading to universal, mandatory diversity statements to ensure fealty, the bending of all sheaves to a god of the established elites' making. 

And now we have an administration, an executive branch, demanding loyalty to that administration to retain or obtain a job. They are even checking prior social media activity. Sounds familiar doesn't it? It is more than just the similarity to the academy, but to prior administrations. The tools of that trade are no more different today than four years ago. The similarities are frightening and any differences seem manufactured, and only important to boo-birds. 

What would have been nice, what could be, are voices from the Fourth Estate that decry suspicion-less pre-employment drug testing, mandatory diversity statements, and pledges of political loyalty with equal fervor.

Place Identity

This is an interesting thing in today's America and like most other things it is divisive, or perhaps simply reflects baseline divisiveness in society. It is even more interesting here in Dunwoody. 

Before the city referendum was passed Dunwoody had an identity. And it was a good one. So good that nearby locations adopted "Dunwoody" in their name to add a certain cachet otherwise missing. There are still quite a few subdivisions and apartments in neighboring cities carrying a Dunwoody label.  This Dunwoody character was one of comfort, convenience within the community, and accessibility to things like work and entertainment without the annoyance of those being on top of you. It was suburban. Largely single family with an enthusiastic support for that place identity. People wanted to move here, to live here for the location, the convenience and the inherent stability. But it was suburban.

Then the city rolled in. With it came bureaucrats who run the city and elected officials who have no operational responsibility, capability or accountability, and who are prohibited by law from attempting to exert or influence any of these. The bureaucrats, often not from here and many not living here, are driven by their own priorities or the priorities of outside influences by way of funding from other government entities and grants. If there is a grant, or state or federal funding to do something, then that is what they will do, without any regard for the wishes of the folks who sought Dunwoody out as the place they wanted to live because of the place that it was. The promises made before the city was chartered have been washed away by organizational greed.

It isn't clear if city hall is its own echo chamber (it probably is), or if they are cult-like in following the Shining PATH Foundation (seem to be), or if they just thought the voters had dumbed-down (or just gotten wiser), but their vague, flimsy excuse of a funding referendum went down. Hard. And they seem clueless and their acolytes have resorted to divisive pejoratives in [anti]social media. Perhaps, if they are smarter than everyone else, as they seem to believe, they can gain an understanding of their failure by studying an article on the left's failure to comprehend rural Americans, a demographic upon whom they liberally heap their pejoratives. They might find, and should ponder, things like this:

...consider how rural voters' choices are frequently rooted in values and place-based identities that place a strong emphasis on self-reliance, local control and a profound sense of injustice regarding the lack of recognition for rural contributions to society.

[emphasis added, and perhaps read "rural" as "Dunwoodians"]. What has baffled the left is that rural voters are choosing those who have demonstrated they will send less outside money to rural areas because the left has little comprehension of, or toleration for, self-reliance and local control. They don't understand why they cannot simply buy these peoples' votes. Here in Dunwoody those in operational control of the city cannot fathom why we would turn away outsiders' money if all we have to do to get it is, well, whatever these outsiders want us to do. That is because city hall no longer understands that the voters who supported this city wanted self-reliance and freedom from outside control, and that is what they were promised. A promise that has been broken. 

Message Received, Loud And Clear

There are several problems with "selective enforcement" not just limited to making these enforcers judge and jury, providing opportunity for discriminatory practices and falling far short of the mandate enshrined in the city charter to enforce ALL laws and ordinances. 

Unequal enforcement is also a powerful way to send a message.

And that is what we have right here in daVille. You may be aware of the willful violation of a yard art ordinance with the city turning a blind eye due to some uncomfortable political optics based on surname and timing. The social media hoopla resulted in a dinowoody movement complete with signage, an example of which sits proudly (and illegally) in front of the Village Chevron. During the time of this dinowoody violation, posters showing some (not all) of the folks kidnapped and held by Hamas terrorists have been put up and then, mysteriously, removed. Well, all but one (have luck finding it). 

Whether it was the city or the citizens, by leaving dino while removing the kidnapped they seem to be sending the message: "we stand with Hamas."

Grubb-ing For Bidness

An apartment developer (yep, that's his speciality) who had his bit to convert an office building to apartments is on the rampage. He now contends that unless he is allowed to build apartments in Dunwoody, Dunwoody is doomed. Outside of dubious cancer meds, do terroristic fear tactics really work to sell your product or service? Or is this just a last ditch effort to cash in on Dunwoody?

The argument is odd. Not that long ago an office building was so unused that he wanted to turn it into apartments but now, with all the office space around perimeter he contends there must be massive rental properties built for all the up and coming young professionals. And he is just the man to do it. But this doesn't seem to align with our new, post-pandemic reality. We learned that we can work very effectively when away from the office with some corporations (e.g., a major insurance company) finding that productivity (and hence profits) went up. Mentally ossified Boomers are already out the door and the millennials filling their places are managerial style that is less place-and-face centric. Getting work done away from the office is not going away. And this means two things: no commute; and no need for right-by-the-office living. Of course the latter never made sense for two-income households, something your average developer never addresses and it is why you haven't heard so much about live-work-play lately. 

What is also missing from this is a sense of history. Dunwoody (as in the City of) was sold to voters on a platform whose major plank was stopping the rampant development of apartments. Now one might look at High Street and conclude "promise made, made to be broken" but at least one of the current pols holding office was active in the sales pitch. Voters gave the thumbs-up because they had been convinced that as a city there would be significantly greater restriction on the imminent destruction of Dunwoody's character as a suburban edge-city. 

Let's see if our pols intend to keep the commitment. 

Happy (Belated) Birthday

 

Honey Badger PD

We appear to be blessed with a Honey Badger PD, one that just doesn't give a shit. See:

One of these two vehicles actually belongs here and the other is violating the law. But one must reflect on the lonely tree in the woods: if there NEVER is any enforcement is there really a law? Not when all you get is a Honey Badger PD.

Political Calculus

In Georgia it is an unspoken law that elected judges retire before the end of their term so that a replacement can be appointed. Because of the power of incumbency this ensures a political alignment between retiree and appointee by way of a like minded appointer. This works incredibly well because of the nature of judges and lawyers who appear before them. Since qualified candidates will be lawyers anyone challenging a sitting judge who loses may suffer consequences going forward. Losing is a career limiting move and explains why sitting judges are rarely challenged. In practice, judges in Georgia are appointed, not elected.

Perhaps that is the logic behind the machinations and PR frenzy at city hall. There is indeed a disturbance in dwarfdom with one dwarf joining the ongoing exodus, an exit requiring forfeiture of the much treasured, protected seat, allowing top dwarf the opportunity to name the replacement. The exiting dwarf has proclaimed a replacement: a dwarf-in-waiting that has openly proclaimed a strong preference for Sandy Springs over Dunwoody. The real problem is this attitude fits right in with a knot of dwarf who are increasingly detached from considerations benefiting residents preferring businesses for whatever favors that might bring. Perhaps this is why so many, including a long time dwarf have decided to leave: who would want to live in what Dunwoody has become?

The questions at hand include whether the appointment-for-life phenomena applies to dwarfs and just which dwarf will be selected. The power of incumbency has already been demonstrated as limited as sitting dwarfs have been unseated and the power of a dwarf over a contender is more limited than that of a judge. In any event, the use of appointment-for-life, or even the desire to do so, is a frontal assault on democracy. Nonetheless the appointment is a tantalizing tool to oligarchy. The appointment could go to the dwarf who loves Sandy Springs with a lame, transparently contrived explanation about parents loving all their children. Or statesmanship could emerge, cicada-like, from a prolonged hibernation with the appointment of a former dwarf who no longer holds the seat. How is this statesmanship? A former dwarf knows has been to the circus. If the explanation is that district 1 deserves representation how can that possibly derive from a dwarf-in-training who will not be up to speed by the time of the election? It is at that time that the electorate, the people suffer or thrive under their representation can choose. The can, if they prefer, choose a fresh set of eyes, untainted by a give-the-new-dwarf-a-chance sentimentality, no matter how weak the she's-just-learning excuse. Appointment of a dwarf who has been there, one who has been selected, even though later excused by the electorate is far superior to someone who has never faced examination by the constituents of District 1.

That's why attention should be paid to this appointment. Perhaps the exiting dwarf was just an opportunist (what price your devotion?) or maybe it is a signal, from a connected insider, that it is time to get the hell out of Dunwoody.

Oprah Goes A-Schoolin'

...you'll do fine. Uh-huh.

With pandemic hysteria and education be damned, DeKalb County Schools have gone all "educational Oprah" : Everybody Gets An 'A'! That's right! Just reach under your virtual-at-home desk, grab your 'A' and run. You're done! Well except for the feeding--you're still gonna get those free feeds. It's just the education part that is being shorted and frankly you'll never notice the difference, now will you?

For some this just isn't enough. The Left Wing Exsanguinator of the AJC wants Georgia Colleges and Universities to throw their standards and integrity out the window by dispensing with grades and quality points and making every course pass/fail. You cannot make this up. Sure, the social justice warriors and snowflake profs and students are in a corner curled up in a fetal position whining how their life is sooooo very stressful. So they want a pass on that whole "grade' thing.

You have to wonder. Can you imagine these creatures under the pressure to maintain a student deferral to avoid deadly killing fields in Southeast Asia? Can you imagine being on forward patrol with one of these?

A big problem with the standards-elimination proposal is that some of these universities are R1, top notch research institutions where people actually do Hard Things[tm]. As pointed out by some of the better profs, their earned PhD, often in a competitive, difficult subject area is proof they can take on and overcome difficult challenges. Are they facing an abrupt paradigm shift? Certainly. Are the grounds shifting under their pedagogical feet? Of course, but their rigorous academic training gives them the balance, the strength and perseverance to push through. With intelligence. With ingenuity.

Some apologists point to other states where schools, that their snowflakes sadly do not attend, have shunned their integrity. Perhaps at those schools they know their customers. Or perhaps, unlike USG, they don't already have it covered. In Georgia, schools have something for those who, for any number of reasons, simply cannot complete their work: take an 'I'--incomplete. It isn't as if there is any serious damage done as most of today's crop of students aren't expected to graduate in four years anyway. The six year graduation rate at UGA (Flagship R1 University) is about 83% and bumps up by only one percent in eight years. The four year rate is above the national average but still below 60%.

So the choices are clear. Either buck up buttercup, do the work and accept the grade you earned without whining about how life is difficult--it is for everyone, or take an 'I' and complete the work and the grade when you're feeling a little better about yourself and your stress level. 

Lemon Drop Days

So if you're a Tech, or maybe even a UGA grad, when you read this you're probably wondering why there were no profs like this when you were taking Calculus. You, know, the kind who go the extra mile to actually actually teach so you can actually learn. Even when it is inconvenient, when it requires extraordinary effort, when circumstances are far from ideal. For you and for the prof.

Maybe this is just difficult times causing some to flourish while others wilt. Maybe there is an inverse analogy with the pandemic. Viruses retreat to safe reservoirs, waiting to return when conditions are favorable and opportunity arises. Maybe the service academies are safe harbor for the good remaining in education, protected from the onslaught of pressures to become credential factories, a place where snowflakes are turned away at the door. Perhaps there is a seriousness not seen outside the services. These are not students to be placated with inflated, unmerited grades; these are officers-in-the-making whose post-commission knowledge and abilities will lead others into and through harm's way. In many cases those who stand at the head of class in an academy have or will serve alongside former students. This is not a place where professors can pass their failures along to become someone else's problem. This is life and death where professors are called upon to stand and deliver.

Thankfully there are those among us, largely unnoticed, who when confronted with tough challenges in difficult times are stirred to action rather than shaken into incapacity.

Franchises, Fees, And White

This is not just another rant about how despicable, right out of the gate, that Dunwoody (and other new cities) have been in adding new taxes when the city started--in this case franchise fees. It is that, but it is somewhat more.

It has not been that long ago that City Hall flew the flag of "Smart City" and it still adorns our recycle bins as a weekly reminder of the lady that doth protest too much. But when it comes to utilities, franchises and fees City Hall has gone full frontal lobotomy.

It is one thing for a mere resident to open a bill, see the "Local Fees and Taxes" and think that somehow the local government provides some benefit or service on our behalf with the money they pick from our pocket. But it is another thing for all those smart folk down to the Hall and up at the GMA to be so ignorant, since they were in cahoots establishing this in the first place.

So what is the disconnect? Well, in an incessant drive to paint this city monochrome, Council has decided that all utility markings will rendered in white: paint, sticks and flags. Yep. They will mark a white sidewalk with white paint. Maybe like those white tattoos they will be visible in UV light. Maybe someone on council has F&F selling those lights or maybe the paint. Or both.

But it gets better and that is where the intense ignorance (or hubris) kicks in. Quite a while back many of the utilities lobbied under the gold dome to make some changes to how they are regulated and franchised in Georgia. What they fought for, and won, was state-wide rules and regulation: state wide franchises. What was untouchable was the money, meaning that the local yokels got the cash, but they lost their place at the table when it came to bossing these folks around. The cities were pretty pleased because their focus was, and still is, on the money. But now it seems mass amnesia has settled on City Hall and they think they have the power because they get the money when in fact they gave up the power just to keep the money.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.

Software Update

You get a new phone and then what happens? Software update. And later? Another update. But it is JUST a phone. But were this aircraft flight control software should one just tap "OK" without reading the list of bug fixes, new features and updated End User License Agreement? Should it be pushed out just because some Product Manager is under time-to-market pressure? It's one thing for a software bug to inadvertently convert your phone to a spy-cam and another to have even a minor glitch in software acting as the brains of the planes.

So how did this happen? Where was the FAA? Back in the day a plane would not get into service until there was a bow on the entire package. The craft would be fully tested. Simulators would be in place. Training regimes would be defined, vetted and approved. Pilots? Trained and certified on normal operation, Line-Of-Flight Training and emergency situations. It seems software may have escaped without this level of rigor.

As we migrate important functions from tangible controls operated by human hands and a well-trained mind to software systems reasonable care for public safety suggests we expend no less effort qualifying and vetting software than the humans it supplants. We must also address issues around the humans who create this software. Are they qualified? Are their tools properly used? Are the processes  complete and are they followed? Are the processes sound? Do they ensure that software is fully tested, that operation is robust and resilient, and that it is performant?

Maybe this is NOT the software that should be outsourced to the lowest cost labor pool. Maybe it is time that "Software Engineer" was more than just words people like to say.

Restorah Menorah

Remember the Sayonara Menorah? The one that led the city and the DPT to expel the Menorah and the Christmas Tree from the Farmhouse exiling them to the Dog House across the street. Justification at the time suggested a fear that someone might ask the courts to intercede on behalf of the U.S. Constitution and the people it protects. But this city has grown in plain old fashion political arrogance to the point they no longer fear that Constitution or its defenders.

In holding itself above all others this city has reversed the previous decision by installing a Christmas Tree and Menorah in City Hall. Perhaps they'll argue that the Christmas Tree is just a tree. And the Menorah just an electric candelabra, somewhat broken in that many of the lights don't work much of the time and it takes their electrician nearly a week to get it fixed. Yet all the lights on the tree always work suggesting some preference on the part of the city therefore these cannot be religious icons as such a preference would be just plain wrong.

Obviously, in this city's view, these are not religious symbols. Assume they're correct. What this reversal actually symbolizes is the recurring incompetence of the city itself. Never ending tax increases. Police shootings. Bungled crime investigations. Civil rights violations at every turn. Refusal to enforce ordinances. Seeking the losing end of court battles. Ethical breaches ending in dismissals and judicial face-slaps. Given all that, thumbing their collective nose at the Constitution of the United States seems oddly appropriate and at the very least is consistent.

Let's hope someone gets the bright idea to hook up the tree and the candelabra and this union brings forth a burning bush from which a voice of high moral authority will speak, saying unto the greedy and corrupt gathered there: "Shut This City DOWN!" Were that to come to pass this would be a blessed holiday season. 

What I Hear You Saying Is...

As pointed out in a recent guest post folks no longer use words based on meaning and consequently are no longer even attempting to communicate meaning. Instead they're communicating feelings...if it sounds good, well then it is good. Right?

Ground zero for this societal semantic epidemic is right here in Dunwoody.

WILL Be? WHEN?

What does this REALLY mean? "Everything will be OK" is a future projection...a prediction. But if that is indeed what the future holds, some unspecified future, then what of today?

One thing is certain: things are definitely NOT OK now.

Somethin' Ain't Wright Here

In his first contested race Ken Wright has muffed it. It should have been an easy catch for the home town boy done good but he just muffed it.

What are we to make of this?

Mere ineptitude? Guns, booze and foreign exchange students a hard act to top? Or are the Blue Pant Suits right and this is a red tide washed clean by a blue wave? That would be a larger, almost national, context.

But there is a narrower context. Closer to home. Maybe this is the part of "local control" that Dan and Fran and others did not really expect. Former Mayor Wright was one of the anointed crusaders of the citihood movement. When there was one. Since Dunwoody, the "Hey Alexa-make me a city" movement has petered out with the failure of Cliffside and now the smack-down of Eagles Landing. Maybe folks inside and nearby have been watching Dunwoody and don't like what they see.

Maybe they don't like increased costs and ever rising taxes. Maybe they don't like deterioration of services, particularly police who are increasing obsessed with social media over community service. Maybe they don't like the absence of any consideration of quality of life issues. Maybe they just see another bunch of government pols and bureaucrats who are beholden to rich, powerful outsiders and who see voters as folks to feed convenient lies so they get raises and re-elected.

Maybe in the Smart City we just had a referendum on stupid. If so, we won.

Hear No Evil, See No Evil

And you, dear citizen, will speak no evil...

The City of Dunwoody maintains a See-Click-Fix account and until recently this was the destination advertised by the Police Department to report issues needing their attention. That is until the local Whine Club started taking them up on it. One issue of unrest was around the unenforced truck routes, more specifically the No Truck Routes which were duly reported on SCF. The City claimed forwarding the issue to the PD was some sort of "resolution" summarily closing the issue. Folks re-opened it. The City swatted back, archiving the issue closing it to further comment. Then reports surfaced that it had been disappeared.

But the illegal activity remains unabated. Just this Monday full dump trucks were seen violating the School Crosswalk on Chamblee Dunwoody where folks, and their children, Stroll the Knoll.

We Got Ourselves A Convoy!

Moments later one of many trucks serving stores in the Village was seen headed to the same violation.

Just Another Day Of Deliveries

What do these scofflaws have in common? For one thing their activities are easily known by the City as the one is based on permitted activities and the other is regular as clockwork. For another thing the City turns a blind eye thereby condoning the activity undermining the rule of law and eroding any remaining respect that citizens have for City Hall. Obviously this is unimportant to City leadership and will not change until they are changed.

"Don't" Woody

Dunwoody has banned wood construction in buildings above three stories tall. The claim, coming from Dunwoody and Sandy Springs, attempts to hide behind public safety by arguing these construction techniques amount to little more than building a funeral pyre. Stealing some candy from the babies:

This is not to suggest that politicians would be lying to the public. No, it would be screaming it from the mountaintops. They are lying. They want you to believe this is a disaster in the making and they are going to do something about it.

But this isn't about safety and certainly not fire safety. Remember, Dunwoody is the City that refused to inspect and issue Certificates of Occupancy for edu-trailers in the City limits. It is also the City that tried to tear down apartments saying they wanted ball fields when they really wanted the "wrong kind of people" out of their City. Nearby, Rusty Paul says he has "seen these things burn," but has he seen a trailer burn? If this were about fire safety, and you simply must have a Permission Society, then you should address the real problem. Require fire retardant materials, which includes treated wood products. Require fire suppression systems, which would arguably be of immense value when their metal and concrete semi-urban gulags become pizza ovens fueled by Ikea furniture. Or is that next? Should our lords and masters ban furniture made of particle board? After all, they are wood and adhesive, practically the same as a fire log. Have you seen THOSE burn? Will Dunwoody ban fireplaces? How about candles? Must they be LED-only? Why not?

Because it isn't about fire safety. Just like the previous apartment Blitz-Krieg it is about social and demographic engineering. It is about economic segregation. Earlier a slip of a ruler's lip let it out that the real concern was that within five years economically constructed housing would fall into disrepair, rents would drop and the "wrong kind of people" would invade our community and our schools. That is what this is really all about.

Oh. The. Humanity. 

Entitlement Logic

Some parents in Snobb County are miffed that Buffy and Biff will suffer the tragedy of in-school suspension for their 17-minute Flash Mob Comedy Routine. One mother of an entitled li'l darlin is particularly bothered that this means Biff will miss one session of AP Physics and Macroeconomics, pondering aloud: "I am just really wondering what the lesson is supposed to be if the goal is student success." Wonder away Biff-mom, the answer will continue to elude you.

Perhaps Biff-mom might ponder what student success, for OTHER students, not just her li'l darlin, was achieved by exiting the classroom and disrupting the educational mission of the school and the learning experiences of classmates--who just might have their asses in classes to learn what is being taught rather than be subjected to the ego-displays of the cool-kids. Especially when that is on offer in the cafeteria any weekday that ends in 'y'. But that is not how the entitled operate. Consideration and respect require a bit too much critical thinking, and thinking, critical or otherwise is not in their wheelhouse. Grabbing attention is.

If schools wanted to make a real statement they would have awarded Buffy and Biff OUT-OF-SCHOOL suspension. This would pull the public-funded daycare right out from under Biff-mom and she, or Biff-dad would have to consider taking a "stay at home with your kids" hit. If you've ever met Buffy or Biff you know it would be more fun to bathe the cat in ice water. It would so annoy them they might show up at school as angry as that wet cat, perhaps even armed [think 'Kennesaw', which IS in Snobb County], putting  a cherry, red with irony, atop the 17-minute ego sundae. 

Go With Luck

Another flailing retail operation finds the exit unable to save itself even with open disrespect for City ordinances and supported by the blind eye of their representative on City Council.

Nearby, the most egregious violator of the Dunwoody Overlay proudly claims the title of "Enemy From Within." Shame on them. They should and probably do know better and their disregard for this community is all the more repugnant. Shame. On. Them. And the Councilor in their back pocket.

To each and every business and politician who holds this community in disdain: go with luck--but go!

Is It Really Charity?

When you must be paid to do it?

Any number of groups are hating on tax reform. It is only a bit surprising that some vocal hating is coming from "charitable organizations" who otherwise self-profess to do all manner of good things for all manner of people. Just not interested in helping people who pay taxes.

As currently proposed, changes to the tax laws would raise personal exemptions and lower incremental tax rates. Charitable organizations see this as an existential threat as they are convinced that donations come not from recognition of and support for their good works but because their kind of American gladly gives them a dollar to screw the feds out of twenty eight cents. The AJC has the cat far removed from their bag:

Someone with a tax rate that goes as high as 28 percent could give a $100 donation to a charity, but they’d see a $28 drop in taxes with the deduction. Which means that $100 donation ultimately only cost them $72.

What better reason to give? While Habitat for Humanity, a local fave, touts their good works, they fall just short of demanding direct public funding by insisting that the government incentivize taxpayers to divert taxes to H4H:

“Habitat for Humanity has serious concerns about the proposed tax bill’s impact on charitable giving,” Chris Vincent, a vice president for the organization, said in an emailed statement. “Habitat strongly urges Congress to preserve and enhance charitable giving incentives, to preserve the vital work that organizations like Habitat do with low-income families across the country.”

Just because these organizations are not for profit does not mean they are not all about big bucks. 

Knee Replacement

Lost in the media circus around the athlete-cheerleader attention junkies, none of whom have offered a coherent, logical explanation of their goals and how their actions achieve them, is an even better question. Why does old glory fly over those fields?

After all these are athletic fields of glory where "giving it all" means you are unusually tired and sore. And this is not to the greater glory of that flag and the country for which it stands. It is first and foremost about money. Even at the high school level there is money involved from boosters to salaries to equipment. Moving up the food chain makes the money component even more obscene but in no way does this contribute to or commemorate the innovation of this country's founding or celebrate what this country offers to its citizens and the greater world.

And "we can not dedicate-we can not consecrate-we can not hallow-this ground." Why not? Because nothing, not-a-thing, has or ever will happen on this field that is worthy of anyone's dedication, consecration and hallowing. If you think there is something there rising to that high bar then you need more sessions with your therapist.

But we need not question why that flag still waives o'er that field of sport. No, we simply need to remove it. That flag stands for more than a mere game--a paternalistic game where men take the glory while women, and only the pretty, cheer them on--pageantry to be relegated to the dustbin of history not condoned and certainly not celebrated by this nation's foremost symbol.