Priorities.

[Act_of_Reparation]

17. I enjoyed that discussion as well.

This is the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Württemberg, from whence my family immigrated in the 1840s.



Lions, lions everywhere. The three lions passant on the sinister (viewer's right) side of the central crest has represented peoples of southwestern Germany since at least the 10th century, when the symbol was adopted by the Duchy of Swabia; and the Kingdom's motto, "Furchtlos und Trew" ("Fearless and Loyal", in some incomprehensible High German dialect), describes qualities people of European extract have long associated with lions.

And lions have been extinct in Europe since the 1st century CE. I very much doubt the sweeping majority people represented by these symbols had ever seen a lion until modern times.

But still, I think the gentleman's point about how conservation is marketed as a "brand" using popular marketing tropes is probably more applicable to Americans than historical symbolism.