I just don’t understand whythe United States should be represented by a predator...or any totem animal.
It is pretty much normal human nature, expressed in many civilizations and cultures.
Flight in general is often symbolic of freedom, and with a bald eagle, a close encounter with one in flight (see my experience posted just above) invokes a simultaneous feeling of freedom, awe and majesty that is striking and quite memorable. My wife, daughter, and I were all "Wowwwwwww!!"