Unfortunately, the statue might even be too recognizable to Americans these days; when we see it flashing across the screen of the television on any number of occasions, or when it is thought of as primarily a tourist attraction for families visiting New York, it is easy to forget what it stands for. Furthermore, as it become commonplace to see representations of the Statue of Liberty on any little thing having to do with America, one probably neglects to think about some of the most interesting aspects of the whole thing. I mean, certainly, as I've mentioned before, the statue is a symbol of freedom, etc., but beyond that, how much do we actually think about the way in which it came to be? Does anyone really reflect upon the little things about the statue that are supposed to be giving Americans some sort of message? First of all, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French. Perhaps this is not as big of a deal as I make it out to be, but isn't it odd that something meant to be one of the foremost symbols of our nation was not even created by the American people? And, after all, what could we have possibly done in return for such a gift? Send a thank you note? Those of you who are familiar with French and American history can rationalize this exhibit of generosity; both the French Revolution and the American Revolution (during approximately the same time period) embody the ideas of liberty and justice. The French, naturally, felt some sort of sisterhood with Americans in their mutual goal of liberty. Still, a 92 meter statue of Lady Liberty is kind of a big present. And these days, are we still expected to share some sort of sisterhood with France, or is that time over? Its not that I have any animosity for France or French people, its just that, if we have a statue from the French as a symbol for our culture, you'd think that the French, in general, would play a bigger role in our daily lives.
Even if we accept the fact that this enormous, green statue was a gift from another nation, we still have to consider the fact that the statue wasn't even given in the revolutionary period, during the peak of this "sisterhood" between America and France. The statue was, in fact, proposed by Edouard de Laboulaye following the American Civil War. At the end of what might be considered one of the largest crises of the collective American past, a war which divided the nation in bitter sectionalism, all of a sudden, the French present us with a gift celebrating certain traits of American society. It seems a little odd, to me at least, that during this destructive time in American history, a Frenchman was inspired with the idea of a symbolic gesture towards American liberty. Then again, I suppose one could look at it as a pronouncement on the outcome of the Civil War in general; with the emancipation of the slaves, perhaps the statue stated boldly for the American people the idea of freedom and justice for all. Yet those who know better realize that all was not quite so ideal following the Civil War, and the liberty embodied by the statue was not quite felt by all in its entirety. Yet another fascinating factoid regarding the statue- before it came to be "The Statue of Liberty" as we know it, it was called "Liberty Enlightening the World." One can take this to mean a number of different things; taken literally, its harmless enough. She carries a torch, it lights up the area, she represents liberty- ergo, Liberty Enlightening the World. But then, if we take this "enlightening" business a different way, was Lady Liberty meant to be an example for the rest of the world to follow? Its not really such an outrageous assumption;in the early days of our nation, many felt that the new system of government and society existing in America should be a model for other societies to follow. A government that offered equal opportunities for all, democracy for all, and such a great amount of freedom- those who were experiencing American culture at its relatively early phases had every reason to think of it as superior to what they had seen elsewhere. Perhaps what the people behind the production of the Statue of Liberty were trying to say when they came up with its original name was "The rest of the world, look at us! Look at the way we offer liberty and equality; you all can learn from us, and pretty soon your nation can be as great as ours!" Now I am unsure of when exactly the name eventually changed to the one we're used to now, but perhaps it was around the time when we realized that we're not really doing well enough here in America, to start "enlightening" other nations on how we do it.
I certainly don't mean to undermine the popularity of such an accessible symbol for our nation; I am, however, fascinated by what exactly goes into the making of a national symbol. In retrospect, though, perhaps the importance of the statue is not the little things like where it came from or when it arrived here, or even what it used to be called. People, I think, are reassured by the symbolic manifestations of American pride. No matter how bad it gets, after all, we still have this big, green woman looking over us, reminding us that its pretty nice to be free.