What's it take to turn a symbol into something which is something [rather than symbolic of something?]
Treasuries turn high-rag paper and indelible ink into slips for which people will give one a shirt or a bicycle.
-Paper and pot metal as symbol of value
Admen turn color and font into a dollar more per kilo of a chemically-identical product. [The dollar can be used for someone's ill-advised gas station hot dog.]
-Brand as symbol of value
Countries are defended by the potential to use weapons - not by their actual use.
-WMD as symbol of defense
Social media presents a lot of talking and the illusion of listening.
-Screaming into a dark forest as symbol of communication
Stories and verse get turned into potent chemical reactions in the body.
-Vicarious living as symbol of living
The letters of this post are symbolic of philosophy, which - in turn - is symbolic of something meaningful, which - in turn -... which - in turn -... which - in turn-...