#swastica

(Note: when using the term "myth" I mean social narrative and fiction as value; I do not mean to use myth as a stand-in for falsehood)

I want to start off by being exceptionally delicate regarding the application of narrative fiction in the real world. Everyone believes they are the hero of their story, the victim of fate, and only the villain that is most reasonable and deserved.

And even with that in mind, it can still be exceptionally tempting to pilfer the easiest and mundane examples from narrative to apply to whatever our current circumstances might be. Crying "wolf!" seems to be all the rage these days, and specificity and nuance are quickly becoming non-starters. When do we become desensitized to the warnings of Nazism and fascism? That time may have already arrived.

And yet, there's also been a contagious trend to explain away the banality surrounding our understanding of current events.

Look, whether you agree with the current administration or not (and to be open and forward with my biases for the sake of discourse, I very much so do not agree), we are not currently living in a fascist state. I, of course stress the word currently. You might say we are on our way there or that our ability to internally fight off such a state is quickly diminishing, but we are not yet subject to the every whim of a dictator. That said, the normality by which our current society is breaking down the institutional taboos is frightening. The normality and desensitization of unrighteous imagery is spreading with a new fervor.

That this particular gesture could be and has been explained away by a large portion of the larger social community is a good barometer of our atrophy.

It is worth noting that by using the term "unrighteous" my goal is to shift our understanding of the image away from a simply negative sign (in the same way we view, for instance, a flipped middle finger) and instead as something wholly unique and of inverted ethical value. The religious and moral weight of the term "righteous" should br understood as something to strive for, a goal not of superiority and purity, but of goodness and foundational to humanity.

And for any that might wish to misconstrue my intentions, I am not claiming that anyone in our government are Nazis. This essay is about symbolism and myth, what those in power "believe" is between them and God, or at the very least, not in my purview of discourse.

To understand this situation wherein unrighteous symbols are losing their negative, connotative currency, it's important also to consider the social landscape as well as the official one.

People, in general, understand this to be a negative position. Overall, people will reject this symbolism. Knowing that is important, but not the only point of value. That these symbols live on as a form of value is culturally significant. The taboo is still present, but the normalization of these symbols hints at a loss in meaning. This loss is gradual, not instantaneous.

We will never be a Nazi state.

That particular flavor of Fascism was seasonal, never to return again. But the symbols, motivations, hatred, and myths that powered that regime are always readily available to any power that might wish to use it.

So, how does any of this tie into Bethesda's response to Tomb Raider and Uncharted, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle?

When we understand propaganda as myth, we begin to see where the truth behind symbolism lies.

The swastika is not geometrically evil, but the symbol of meaning is.

We are slowly losing the importance of myth and symbol as a language of meaning. But the arrival of Indiana Jones is a return to meaning.

Playing as the titular character allows one the opportunity to engage in myth without the social baggage. Indiana Jones fights nazis in whatever form they show themselves, in whatever guise they pull. He never pulls punches. But the most important part of Indiana Jones is not that he fights the people, it's that he fights the Idealism of nazism. His violence isn't, I would argue, a trait of masculine dogma, but of radical ideology. Despite the clear contradiction, Indiana Jones' super power is his ability to maintain that there can be no exception when rejecting intolerance.

He is a pillar of virtue, a truth-seeker, a hero of both, intellectualism and empathy, a myth of resistance to tyranny.

There is little doubt that history will repeat itself in some form or another. But in the war of symbolism currently running rampant in the world, the nazi-punching seeker of truth feels like a breath of fresh air.

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As an aside, the game is an excellent game and I highly recommend it.

Adrien Arcand (1889, 1967) , fondateur du Parti national social chrétien

Québec, Canada