system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Is there a philosophical term for holding symbols higher than the ideas those symbols represent?

Some examples: In the collective american consciousness, the flag represents freedom, liberty, etc. but when someone does something involving the flag that people don’t like (Kapernick) they seem disregard the idea that he has the freedom to do what he’s doing. Another example: The Bible and Cross represent Christian beliefs in the teaching of Jesus, but many simply value the symbols without actually learning what the teachings of Jesus were. I guess there’s a similarity between this and the shadows in Plato’s cave, but I can’t think of a term for it.
gpt
In semiotics, there's a concept of the 'floating signifier,' which is a kind of signifier that lacks a strict signified, so can refer to any number of different things by different people and/or nothing at all. 

I think that's what you might be looking for.