I think you just hit on why this story has such traction. Because it’s not an isolated incident.

I also started out in the “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar” camp — but the panel deciding on this design recommended that the name be changed to “arc of embrace” — and the artist refused to let it be changed. Why demand that it be called a “crescent” — what is he trying to represent?

All I can come up with as symbolic associations of a crescent are: (1) Islam; (2) the Fertile Crescent (Iraq); and (3) a crescent moon.

I can’t figure out what relevance the moon might have… so I’d enjoy hearing what symbolism the artist intended — except that he claims he had no symbolic intentions — but don’t change the word. I’m skeptical.

Rather than overanalyse this stuff, I think that maybe we should be more interested in the ‘museum of American Atrocities’ (or whatever the Moveon.org ™ affiliate is calling it) spectacle in NYC.

For some excellent commentary on this whole thing, take a look at:

http://sisu.typepad.com/sisu

The red crescent symbol — sure. But the orientation? I go back and forth… (It’s pointing the opposite way, there’s controversy about “great circle” vs. “shortest line” directions to Mecca..etc)

In the end, I’m with Ace of Spaces — let’s just make it a circle (or a circle with three openings to enter from).

Michelle Malkin asks in this update post whether people watched the excellent Discovery Channel’s special Flight 93: The Flight That Fought Back and how they felt about the Flight 93 Memorial. The short answer is yes we did and it was excellent…