First point - A universal sign? I don't know. You tell us. I have a personal one though and I looked at it often and thought about its significance. It's an extremely old photo of some of my Cherokee ancestors at their camp. Traditional garb, all the stereotypical trappings. What was most striking was none of that. It was the expressions on their faces. I'd say it was dignity giving way to resigned hopelessness. I wondered what they were thinking, how that picture came about. Was there a realistic chance that things could have been otherwise? Like Mary I gathered these things and pondered them in my heart. It wasn't a pointless exercise though. I realized those people didn't want my tears, they had enough of their own, and while our past is important, grieving and for those your own couldn't have known is less than helpful as is the weight of carrying perpetual outage. What a tragic way to live. So my suggestion? Understand what's important. Understand your history, don't make it an albatross to hang around ones neck. Do blacks have things to be angry or cry or pray about? He'll yes! When? Whenever a child is killed by gang violence, when a black child is denied an education by his or anyone's actions. That lip service is paid by "caring" people who have never taken their time, their money to materially help one black person, butb are oh so outraged over a flag worn without hostile intent which might rightly upset those from a hundred years ago, but who spend more time fretting over things which leave todays trouble for future generations to endure.
I have the quote that you didn't complete that seems fitting. Those who constantly live in the past are doomed to live in perpetual and useless torment.
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