The nostalgia laden icon, known as "the Peace symbol" is ubiquitous in Berkeley CA. The prolific bit of graphics could provide an industrious photo student with a potential theme for a project which could furnish enough raw material for a photo book.
The idea that the commercial exploitation of the Northern California city's altruistic sentiment would be an ironic example of the crass basis for all capitalistic endeavor might be perceived by cynical columnists as an example of oxymoron thinking, but the unfortunate truth is that making a profit on idealism is a more realistic effort than is the lofty goal of the people who display the graphics which may or may not express the political move for nuclear disarmament by presenting the letters "N" and "D" in semaphore signals style. Apparently they think that nuclear disarmament is the first necessary step towards achieving a perpetual world-wide Peace.
Did the hippie trend of using the two finger "V" hand signal (popularized by Winston Churchill in WWII) to express the "Peace" sentiment originate in Berkeley during the Sixties? Dunno.
Ironically, the city that is almost a synonym for anti-war sentiment is also the location for a weapons laboratory think tank.
Sadly, the events of the first half of this year may put the altruistic goal of "Peace" so far out of reach that it can realistically be considered "Mission Impossible."
The industrious family men who provide mainstream media with commentary would loose their precious paychecks for pointing this out, but a rogue (gonzo?) blogger can churn out such a column knowing that, in a culture dominated by clever conservative propaganda, his effort, even if it is a "spot-on" evaluation of a bleak truth, at best it will just provide a curious footnote for future historians scrutinizing the detritus from that year's pop culture.
What evidence is there to back the deduction that Peace is now an unattainable goal?
For one example, examine the quagmire in Afghanistan. Now that Osama bin Laden has been sent to his eternal reward (which may be an inappropriate clichà © phrase) the American military operation in Afghanistan may seem to be unnecessary. The fact that there will be no withdrawal of troops and no rational explanation for the American military's continued presence in that country will be a subtle preview of the "perpetual war" reality that American voters will slowly comprehend.
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