This statue is less than 100 feet away from the grave of Venizelos, arguably Greece’s (and indisputably Crete’s) most prominent statesman. In a battle in 1897, a cannonball hit a Cypriot flag pole, and in the midst of the battle, a fighter picked up the flag and used his body as a flagpole. That’s a powerful image. It displays a mind-boggling love of country. When I first saw the image I couldn’t understand it. I can certainly understand the reason the state made a statue of it, that much is obvious. It seems so impractical; it’s a piece of cloth, let it drop and pick up a gun, you’re in a battle. But upon more reflection, I could not possibly understand. This man was fighting for a nation, not just a state. America is a melting pot and a revolving door; being American has more to do with where you live than where you’re from. You can come and go as you please. We fight for ourselves and for the current time. This soldier was fighting for the past, the present and his idea of the future. He was fighting for a nation, not just a state. Who am I to judge?
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