signs and symbols

Signs are pretty arbitrary. Today, a red light means stop, but there’s nothing existentially significant about it. Anything we want could mean stop if we decided it should be that way. 

Symbols, however, point to and participate in a reality beyond themselves. For example, a nations flag points to its values and its history. You can’t raise a banana in the place of a flag at the Olympics and expect a gold medalist to feel a surge of nationalism.