“This is a symbol, but it’s only a piece of cloth. It doesn’t mean anything,’
There’s the problem right there.
This guy teaches English yet doesn't know the meaning of symbol? From www.dictionary.com --> a word, phrase, image, or the like having a complex of associated meanings and perceived as having inherent value separable from that which is symbolized, as being part of that which is symbolized, and as performing its normal function of standing for or representing that which is symbolized: usually conceived as deriving its meaning chiefly from the structure in which it appears, and generally distinguished from a sign
So a symbol HAS meaning. What an idiot -- and he's supposed to be a "teacher"...