What does the bald eagle symbolize in the American mythos?
Freedom and strength, right? What if the bald eagle were wiped out at the same time as the US was occupied by a foreign power for two thousand years. Then, just as the US regained her freedom from the foreign power, a bald eagle egg was found in the ruins of, say, the White House. And then, the egg hatched, and bald eagles returned. It’s far from a perfect analogy, but it might give some flavor of the symbolism involved. Besides the Jewish symbolism, consider Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. What sort of fronds were used? Why? There were Jewish reasons (cf Leviticus 23 esp. v. 40). So now we also have a host of Christian symbolisms on top of the Jewish ones. The Judean date palm has Christian messianic overtones. (cf Revelation 7 esp. v. 9). Wow! That’s all I can say. I really hope the plant is female, so it can reproduce!
