Statue of Liberty as America cultural symbol

In 1886, The Statue of Liberty Monument was a given to the United States from France to celebrate the friendship the two endured during the American Revolution. Over the years, the Statue of Liberty has symbolized the freedom and the democracy of the United States.

The statue of Liberty – “Liberty enlightening the world” – follows centuries of tradition in this country of representing America as an allegorical female. Emphasis on neoclassical goddess. “Before “America” became a toga-clad goddess called “Liberty” or her other common name, “Columbia”, this country was depicted in the form of a beautiful half-naked Indian princess. Even earlier, in the maps of the first European discovery, the Western hemisphere was depicted as a voluptuous but savage Indian Queen riding an alligator or an armadillo”. During the war of independence – evolution towards robed figure with her Liberty pole and cap. Concept of liberty like a mother. this Liberty is like a mother who loves all her children equally, including all the poor refugees; she impartially gives liberty to all”. The Crown of Light, that consists of seven rays , the torch (факел) are compared with knowledge and enlightenment ideas that are to combat prejudice. Thrown off chains – religious and political freedom.

The tablet is in her left hand (it has the date – July 4, 1776) – the birth of independence as a nation and at the same time the Law on which this republican experience was founded.

Summary: “We have the crown of seven rays that could refer to the seven seas or continents, but in esoteric symbolism we see seven as the symbol of the victory of spirit over matter. The torch raised in Liberty’s right hand is wisdom (the torch) activated (right hand) by our recognition of the feminine principle within each of us. The tablet or book can be compared to the book of divine law or the Akashic record, which not only notes the thoughts and actions of all living things from inception, but also interacts with our present and affects our future. The broken chain symbolizes both a people winning their freedom and the ability to break our bondage to the physical world and control our personal destiny”.

Diverse ethnic myths in contemporary United States

Asian American

The history of "Asia in America" begins with a rumor about gold found in California in 1849, which reached another continent and nudged Chinese to emigrate to the United States. Asian people saw America as a Golden hill, the land of prosperity and wealth. It is inspired by the Puritan`s myth about the New World, “city upon the hill,” when Puritans set off on a dangerous journey across the Atlantic. Asians dreamt to earn enough money and take them back to their native country. Another Asian-American mythology is the railways. Chinese invested in the development of non-native America. Asian women were barred from entering the country, and the huge gender imbalance became a hallmark of the demographic situation in Asian-American communities.

Racial prejudices were compounded by economic factors, such as fear of competition, which was cheap Asian labor. A law was passed banning Chinese from entering the United States. they could not become US citizens; had no right to own land; were deprived of the opportunity to reunite with their families.

Today, the descendants of the discriminated and despised "yellows" as a group can be proud of the highest level of education and higher incomes compared to all other national and ethnic communities of the country, not excluding the Anglo-Saxons.

Mexican American

Aztlan: It is the Mexican American name for “paradise on earth”, or ancient motherland, the territory of US South-Western states from which Aztecs migrated to central Mexico in old times. Today the concept of Aztlan has become the symbol of Chicano spiritual rebirth and is widely used in literature.

La Llorona – a mythical figure in Mexican American folklore, a weeping woman. She is a vagabond ghost of a mother doomed to lament her children eternally. Her howling predict new human victims and misfortunes.

La Malinche – a legendary figure in Mexican American folklore. According to the legend, she was an Indian woman who became the interpreter and the mistress of Fernan Kortez, the leader of Spanish invaders who conquered the mighty empires of Aztecs and Maya. For centuries her name was synonymous in Mexican American culture with the word “traitor”. Recently, however, her role is sometimes treated in a more favorable way, as a mediator between cultures.

Ukrainian American

Princes and the Zaporozhian Sich fought with the Tatars as Americans with Indians