The Bald Eagle has become the living symbol of the U.S.A.’s freedoms, spirit and pursuit of excellence. The Bald Eagle was officially declared the National Emblem of the United States by the Second Continental Congress in 1782. Recently, I was watching a fight between two Bald Eagles over a duck who was swimming in a lake near my home. As I watched the saga unfold, I could not help but see the similarities to some of the problems our great Nation is facing.
A little duck is swimming along while two Bald Eagles circle over him. The little ducks watches as one of the enormous Eagles speeds towards him. As the Eagle approached, the little duck dove beneath the water, splash, as the Eagle flew past inches above the surface of the water. As soon as the Eagle passed the little duck would pop back up to the surface, shake his feathers a little, as the other Eagle was getting ready to dive bomb again toward the little duck. The little duck would dive beneath the water, splash, as that Eagle flew past inches above the surface of the water. This drama was repeated over and over again for several minutes. After several minutes of the two Eagles became frustrated and began to attack each other. Soon they were diving vertically, then level out, and attack each other head on in a good old fashioned game of “Chicken.” Sometimes they would vear away from each other at the last possible second. Other times they would climb vertically and then tear into each other on the way back toward the water. Meanwhile, the little duck was swimming around underneath them, quite content to watch the Eagles destroy themselves.
Suddenly, the two Eagles made a terrible miscalculation in one of their games of “Chicken” and collided in mid-air going approximately 100 miles per hour.
One Eagle stayed a loft and flew away. The other Eagle floated motionless on top of the water.
The lucky duck was swimming nearby, safe to live another day.
Just when I thought the Eagle in the water was dead, he began to wiggle, flap his giant wings and struggle, at times his head was underwater, finally he was able to get airborne. Suddenly, he was flying straight for me. The poor bird was the most wretched, unstable flight I have ever seen. The bedraggled bird flew as if drunk over my head and lit on a fir tree nearby. The Eagle had at least a 6 foot wing span and look mighty angry. At first, I was concerned I would be the angry birds next target, but it was apparent he was exhausted as he just stared at me. As I watched him, attempt to get his bearings and dry his feathers, it came to me that this beleagered Eagle symbolized America with her current trials.
