The Eagle, the Lion, the Bear, and the Dragon – By Dr. Hossam Badrawi

Throughout human history, humans have interacted with their natural environment and with the evolution of symbolic and cultural systems. Humans have projected different qualities onto the animals and symbols surrounding them, making them representative and expressive of themselves. As forms of states and societies crystallized, they searched for symbols through which they could embody themselves, using them as official logos to portray the country in the way they wanted to present themselves.

Symbols serve purposes beyond just the superficial image of the state; they are connected to the spirit of peoples and nations. One of the most famous of these symbols is the Russian bear, a global symbol of the Eurasian brown bear. It has been an official emblem in Russia since the beginning of the Tsarist era in the mid-16th century, by Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The bear has also been integrated into Russian literature and folklore, from fairy tales and folk stories to proverbs and novels.

The use of the bear as a symbol for Russia has spread in various stages (the Tsarist, then the Soviet Union, then the federation) in global media and journalism, particularly in a political context. In the Western narrative, it is often used to describe Russia’s hostile policies, due to the bear’s associations with aggression and savagery.

On a different note, for children and lovers, the bear is a symbol of love, freedom, and innocence. As a result, teddy bears serve as a reminder of the innocent and pure love needed in the world today. Getting a soft teddy bear brings a wide and lasting smile to any child or lover’s face.

In reality, the bear is a large, somewhat not an intelligent animal. Legend has it that it befriended a human, and when it wanted to swat away flies while the human was asleep, it accidentally killed its friend with a large stone. The legend suggests that the bear did not want to kill its friend, but its foolishness led to its end. Skeptics say that perhaps the bear’s wild nature overpowered the feelings of friendship in the moment it killed its friend, suggesting that its intention was not entirely pure.

I see you have provided two separate pieces of text. Let me translate both of them for you:

Text 1:

“Of the three examples, which is Russia now?

The dragon has appeared in many myths around the world, and stories about it have varied. However, the dragon, as a mythical creature in some European and Eastern cultures, has ended up being associated with China in modern consciousness.

The dragon holds spiritual significance in many religions and cultures around the world. Dragon stories can be found in many Asian cultures, and in some cultures, it is considered a representative of the fundamental forces of nature, religion, and the universe. It is also linked to wisdom and often said to be wiser than humans. They are usually said to possess some form of magical or supernatural powers and are often associated with rain and rivers. In some cultures, dragons are able to speak like humans.

European culture has held a place for the dragon, and myths have spoken of it and described it, but mostly as a source of evil rather than wisdom.

How do we see the Chinese dragon in the late 21st century?”

“The eagle is considered in most cultures as the king of the sky, as the lion is in the animal kingdom. In many myths, it is considered to have a direct relationship with the world of gods, where the Greeks linked it to the god Zeus, the Romans to the god Jupiter, the Germans to the chief of gods “Odin”, and in Pharaonic Egypt, it was considered a symbol of the god Horus.

The United States adopted this eagle as its symbol in spite of the opposition of the former American president Benjamin Franklin in 1784, who declared that he was disappointed with the choice of the eagle as the country’s symbol instead of the turkey, and published a message saying: “The bald eagle’s bad character is that it steals food from hawks instead of hunting for itself, and it is cowardly”, whereas he described the turkey as “a brave and highly respectable bird, a native of America”, as if he saw the United States in the future.”

As for the lion, the African-Asian animal has become a symbol for the English, despite not being present in the European continent. Nevertheless, the lion is the official emblem in the British Isles, in England, Scotland, and Wales, due to its symbolism in Jewish-Christian heritage, where the lion was the emblem of the Kingdom of Judah. In the Middle Ages, King Henry I was the first English king to adopt the lion as the emblem of his kingdom after his coronation as King of England in 1100, at the beginning of the twelfth century. Later, Richard I became known as “Richard the Lionheart”. Over time, the lion became the permanent emblem of the kingdom, with efforts to associate it with the English persona, representing strength, courage, and nobility, even though these qualities are not originally found in their country.

Looking at the symbols, a discussion arose in my mind about the reality of their representation for countries at this stage of history. I found that the United States, along with the British lion, may slightly surpass all others, deserving to have all the emblems for itself. The bald eagle should not just be described by cultures as a symbol of freedom but as described by President Franklin, lacking what the previous thinkers meant by the symbolism of nobility. At the same time, the United States deserves to share the emblem of the Russian bear as described by mythology, killing its friends under the pretext of protecting them. It should also be the dragon as described by European culture, different from Eastern culture, a formidable creature spewing fire, crushing everyone, and dealing in weapons eye for an eye.

Today’s game is very complicated between the American eagle, the Russian bear, and the Chinese dragon in controlling human capabilities, while the British lion remains secluded under the cloak of the American eagle, moving events like a fox and not a lion. Roles change with changing circumstances, interests reconcile, and sadly, evil remains in control.

Things are going from bad to worse these days, and everyone is losing. There are conflicting interests between the intervention of the American eagle and the British lion in the affairs of other countries under the pretext of human rights preservation. Millions of people are being killed as a result of their intervention, leaving behind systems created by their intelligence agencies, leading to extremism and violence in Afghanistan and similar places, and chaos in Syria, Libya, Sudan, and the like. There is a breakdown of the ties between nations that had the potential to be leading countries, such as Iraq, after the destruction of its infrastructure and the creation of religious divisions among the people of the third world, as well as the formation of devilish alliances to empower Israel to lead the Middle East culturally and militarily.

It is strange that the emblem of Israel is a candlestick and olive branches, symbols of peace, while it is one of the most distant countries from it.

As for the symbol of the Star of David on the flag of Israel, it has meaning, although Orthodox Judaism refuses to consider it a symbol of the Jewish people because it has a connection to ancient magic and sorcery, or what was called occult sciences. The other story is that it is a symbol of the liberation of Judaism from slavery after four hundred years spent in Egypt. The triangular shape of the pyramid indicates a comprehensive depiction of power, while the inverted pyramid means breaking away from this power.

The Zionist movement chose the Star of David as its symbol in 1879, and Theodor Herzl proposed at the first Zionist conference in Basel that this star be a symbol of the Zionist movement and also a symbol of the future Jewish state. The pyramid has become a symbol of Egypt, symbolizing power, greatness, and knowledge, despite not being present on its flag.

Now, all the peoples of the world are in a dilemma, and there must be a beneficiary, and history tells us that there are no accidents in politics.

The United States withdrew from its international treaties enforced for free trade and environmental conservation when it was in their favor, and is now saying the opposite.

The world is experiencing a scarcity of rivers, with the polar ice caps melting due to increased use of coal, making the planet more environmentally polluted. The world is suffering from an unprecedented shortage of energy resources despite their availability, and food sources despite their existence. Humanity is witnessing an unprecedented population explosion, economic stagnation crippling countries, and rising daily living costs leading to potential revolutions and chaos.

The United States is harming its allies and killing its friends in an unprecedented madness in history.

Israel openly proclaims its desire to annihilate the Palestinian people, supported by the madness of the American eagle and the British lion, symbols of modern racism.

What should we do in Egypt to escape from a humanitarian, economic, developmental, and environmental predicament caused by external factors? What is our way out? This is what we should agree on and unite for, and open our minds to listen to the voice of reason. I remain optimistic despite the darkness imposed by reality.

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