On Mon, 4 Dec 2000, Marvin Long, Jr. wrote:
> It's true that apple pie is a symbol of hearth and home for USA'uns,
> and we cling to it as such. But the use of mock apple pie isn't a
> matter of people being deluded about the nature of their symbols;
> quite the opposite, it means that people understand the symbolic
> nature of something like an apple pie and are willing to put up with a
> lesser substitute in order to participate in a ritual, of sorts, that
> confirms identity. The uses of the mock apple pie that you are
> citing, in pioneer days or during shortages in WW2 or the Depression,
> aren't instances of people being tricked into indulging in a fake.
> Rather, they are making do with the best they can afford under hard
> circumstances. There is no irony in these gestures, simply the
> assertion of a will to survive and prevail and to not let the bastards
> of fate grind you down.
Kinda like the Methodists using grape juice for Eucharist instead of wine?
Julia
