>> ^Throbbin:
I'm pretty sure the word you're looking for is 'symbology'.


sym⋅bol⋅ism
  /ˈsɪmbəˌlɪzəm/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [sim-buh-liz-uhm]
–noun
1. the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character.

His vote is a symbol of what he truly believes and/or what he believes is representative of the state/district that elected him. By the time it was his turn to actually vote, it was irrelevant whether he was for or against the health care bill - hence, his vote was purely symbolic.

Also,

sym⋅bol⋅o⋅gy
  /sɪmˈbɒlədʒi/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [sim-bol-uh-jee]
–noun
1. the study of symbols.
2. the use of symbols; symbolism.

>> ^HaricotVert:
It bears mentioning that Joseph Cao's vote came after the necessary 218 votes were already clinched for the bill's passage.
His vote either way would not have made a difference in the outcome, aside from symbolism.


I'm pretty sure the word you're looking for is 'symbology'.

So you know what you have to do American?......Create a sustainable micro-economy, centered around a small community of like-minded individuals, to sustain your quality of life, for you and yours. The future is nothing anyone can predict with any certainty, based on the current linear models rapidly deteriorating, the symbology of the current paradigm, or some fantasy of a, slow, forward progression of societies, prior to this last 100 years. The near future will break all the rules of predictability, the changes will come faster and faster-

Am continually in conversation with folks, who are bound by their aversion to change, in denial that the world they are half-assed "slowing" their children how to navigate, will look anything like the one they remember-THEY HAVE NO CLUE.....Simply look, at the predictable nature of humans, as they flounder during some contrived duress, or in an emergency situation, or when they lose their goddamn credit card fer crissakes.....

Rest assured, the assholes that give us in the US, an opportunity to cast our vote for, they know what the near future may bring, and they are preparing for it. Amidst the wonderful new advancements, there is also conversely, a breaking down of old models, and with that will come chaos. Most of us are no where near being prepared for it, but you can place double or nothing odds on the reality, that some of the more wily monkeys do....and they are preparing for their survival, to keep their empire alive....

free energy would be a great start, for the collective veil to be lifted from the eyes of the masses......to bad they won't let us have it, the sorry cocksuckers that run the show-

(future Smithsonian exhibit?? Hall of the Heads of Old World Leaders)