Despite, only this year they will finally make the bald eagle the national bird. Which, I also learned that they are not official symbols until a President signs a document for them to be. It is just a recognized symbol but not official. (Just my opinion but why do they really need a bill for this? What changes would making anything like this official really do?)

Here is a list of other US symbols (article includes links to other countries of the world national symbols, some official, some not made official) if you are interested:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_symbols_of_the_United_States

  • Zer0_F0x@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Bald Eagle for national bird, but honorary mention for the red-tailed hawk, which is the sound people mistakenly associate it with

  • thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org
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    3 days ago

    It was at the time Obama was doing a bunch of tribe recognizing and appeasement. It was a good sentiment and was received in a clouded light that the Republicans used to attack Obama. But the thing is that it was well received coming from Obama but it wasn’t well received coming from the President of the United States. Lots of people couldn’t understand that difference.

    • Theo@lemmy.worldOP
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      3 days ago

      i’d like to see it on some of our money. theres a state quater i think i remember seeing a bison or buffalo on.

  • snooggums@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    The eagle not being official is surprising since bald eagles have been protected with a pretty severe fine since 1940.

        • 5in1k@lemm.ee
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          2 days ago

          .25 and .5 do. Our current dollar coin is a Native American named Sacagawea.

          • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
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            2 days ago

            The quarter-dollar coin was minted for a very long time with an eagle on the back but I don’t think it has been since 1998 when they started the state quarters program. If I understand correctly the quarter-dollar is currently minted in 5 versions, each depicting a notable American woman on the reverse.

            The half-dollar coin is still minted in the 1964 Kennedy/Great Seal design, so it’s got the eagle in full Freemason Illuminati regalia with the shield and the olive branch and the arrows and whatever. It’s weird that the front of the Great Seal is on the rear of the half-dollar.

            The one-dollar coin is still currently minted with Sacagawea on the obverse and a realistic depiction of an eagle in flight on the reverse.

            Completing the set:

            The ten-cent coin is still Roosevelt plus the olive-torch-oak, no birds.

            The five-cent coin has not too long ago updated the image of Jefferson on the front but still features Monticello on the rear.

            The one cent coin needs to fucking stop. It’s often Abe Lincoln themed but they’re doing similar commemorative shit as with the quarter so there’s an untold number of things it can currently be. We also lose money every time they make a penny because there isn’t a metal worthless enough to make pennies out of.

            No longer minted but historically the $10 coin was called an “Eagle” and the pocket watch sized gold $20 coin was called the “Double Eagle.” These are no longer minted and since we’re off the gold standard there’s a couple hundred bucks in gold in a Double Eagle.

            But I wasn’t being technical; in casual discussions online about exchange rates of the various dollars minted around the world you’ll hear people use national symbols or stereotypes or whatever to add a little levity. “It cost more in kangaroo bucks compared to freedom eagle dollars.”

    • Theo@lemmy.worldOP
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      3 days ago

      No the eagle was the national bird just ridiculous that they have to sign a whole bill for it to be official. Seems like a waste of resources.

      • snooggums@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        How else would it be official though?

        Presidential decree could be overturned every time the president changes. If there was an agency that declared things to be official, then they would have to pass a law to grant them the power to do that.

        Being official always starts with laws, might as well do the whole thing at once.

  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    In between bombing seven different countries, Obama found a lot of time to do symbolic, meaningless shit. (Which most US presidents find time to do.)

  • jagged_circle@feddit.nl
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    2 days ago

    Probably because we were more focused on the things that mattered. Like his attacks on our immigrant communities, the war crimes he was committing abroad, and his propping up of private healthcare.

    • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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      3 days ago

      Bison are better mammals than humans. Especially American humans.

      Also they were here first.

      • jagged_circle@feddit.nl
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        2 days ago

        The civilization that lived in America before the Europeans came were OK before they were genocided.

        And the communities that protect the Amazon today are some of the best mammals on earth.

  • ComradeSharkfucker@lemmy.ml
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    3 days ago

    He really picked the animal systematically slaughtered by colonizers for the purpose of starving and controlling the indigenous peoples America genocided. What could be more American I guess

    • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      perhaps it was meant as a way to pay honor to the species rather than forgotten completely?

      nahhh, you’re probably right. Obama was a malicious sadistic cock sucker of a president that actually took great pleasure in hunting endangered species.

      /s

      • ComradeSharkfucker@lemmy.ml
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        3 days ago

        I wasn’t suggesting he did this out of malice I was suggesting he did this with zero regard for how it might be viewed by American natives

        Edit: did not see the /s but my point stands.

    • Theo@lemmy.worldOP
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      3 days ago

      Countries have national animals, if you look on the list of other countries’ animals, you can see it is usually because they are the most common or most unique in some way.

    • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      European bison were called bison a thousand years before America was discovered by Europeans and is a very close relative (different species). Buffalo is the name of the African animal that is only distantly related (different genus) and has been called bufalus by Europeans since before America was discovered by those same Europeans.

      If you are going to die on a hill, might as well call them by the names given to them by people who lived with them for thousands of years before Europeans came here:

      in Arapaho: bii (bison cow), henéécee (bison bull)

      in Lakota: pté (bison cow), tȟatȟáŋka (bison bull) - we all know how to pronounce that one, thanks to Dances with Wolves.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Where is the home where the buffalo roam? Is it in Senegal?

        Was Buffalo Bill called that because he was an African game hunter?

        Is it called a buffalo nickel because it has a bison on it?

        And I can’t speak for you, but I only see buffalo burger on menus as an alternative option, they seem to have left bison off.

        I rest my case. And if you wish to appeal, you can write to me in Buffalo, New York.