Minnesota's Sesquicentennial

This week the State of Minnesota is celebrating its Sesquicentennial. I think it’s another great example of how we live in a symbolic reality with competing converging and diverging interpretations of symbolic fact. The material facts are pretty simple with this one, the State of Minnesota (as it was charted and brought into the United States) is marking its 150th anniversary. The symbolic facts can generate a little more positive or negative energy depending on your vantage point. Also the symbolic facts are those that are up to the audience member and convey emotion, identity, meaning, and motive for action. As this article by Kara McGuire in the Star Tribune points out, the history and its meaning are quite different for Native Americans than it is for the descendents of European settlers and immigrants. For Native American tribe members, the emotion is much different than that of the proud politician. The motive for action is clearly different as well – rather than music and banners, one might want a somber reminder of the deaths of their forefathers.

In another article/editorial from the same paper, we have another perspective on the celebration – more specifically why the celebration can’t be too loud and that loud noise could break some buildings. Given the bridge collapse last August, the State doesn’t need to remind its citizens of how tax dollars have or have not been spent and how that spending has protected, or not protected us.

So, one basic element, a 150 year anniversary, can be seen as a celebration, a dark reminder, or a potential hazard. There are many more items that come to mind for people who have lived here for generations and for those of us “outsiders” who were born elsewhere. The way these symbolic facts generate emotion and identity can bring constituents together or drive them apart. A skilled communicator can help position the positive elements of the state’s rich history and not have their story derailed by competing interpretations.