Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Co-Exist?

On Saturday I was driving back to the UC and saw a car with the above sticker. I've had some issues lately with intolerance of all kinds and I hate bumper stickers with white hot passion but I really want to get this for my car--for now I will just settle for blogging about it. For me I wish for a land where we can all live together, respect each other and basically get along. I did some research and here is a pretty good description of what the symbols mean. I borrowed the following from Amy Bowman who used to write for Boise State:

Allow me to clarify their meaning - the star and crescent are recognized as a symbol for Islam. It was historically associated with the use of a cyclical moon calendar and the Ottoman Dynasty, coming to symbolize Islam by association. The peace sign was designed by artist Gerald Holtom in Britain for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. It first showed up in the form of 500 lollipops in an anti-nuclear march in 1958 in London and was quickly adopted by Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement. The "E" with Mars and Venus symbols protruding from it symbolized gender equality, with "E" representing general equality. The star of David is the primary symbol of Judaism, an ancient symbol of one of the oldest documented religions. The "I" represents the Buddhist dharma wheel, or dharmachakra. "S" is transformed into yin and yang, the Taoist symbol of the interplay of forces in the universe, conveying a universal equilibrium. Finally, the "T," or Latin cross of Christianity, symbolizes Christ's crucifixion. The original cross was the Greek cross, which looks like a plus sign, and represents the four directions of the earth, signifying the intention to spread the gospel in all directions.

1 comment:

Wendi said...

Cool. I've never seen this before. Love it. :)