The phrase "a symbol of decline" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe something that represents a decrease in quality, status, or condition, often in a societal or cultural context.
Example: "The abandoned factory stood as a symbol of decline in the once-thriving industrial town."
Alternatives: "an emblem of deterioration" or "a sign of regression."
But Jason wasn't holding back, going one step further than Miley's past critics such as Sinead O'Connor, Annie Lennox and, more recently, Kate Winslet, by labelling the singer a symbol of declining moral standards and saying society was to blame for encouraging her attention-seeking antics.
Elsewhere, of course, it's become a symbol of cultural decline (France) or a mechanism of unity (India).
This imbalance has become a symbol of American decline and poisoned many Americans' view of free trade.
It was Bolton businessman Inayat Omarji who first spotted the potential of what was fast becoming a symbol of the decline of the northern industrial town.
To Clive Thomas, 74, a former general secretary of the Boys Club Movementt and World Cup referee, the village is a symbol of the decline of the coal industry, once the lifeblood of Wales.
Once considered a brand with global potential, the monster-sized Hummer has become a symbol of the decline of the large, gas-guzzling S.U.V.
ARCHER COUNTY, Tex., the place that "The Last Picture Show" made into a symbol of the decline of small-town life in the 1950's, is growing.
Once hailed as a skilled deal maker who turned a small national bank into a global financial services operation, the bank's losses made him the target of public scorn and a symbol of the decline of Britain's banks.
Under his leadership as president from 1998 to 2003, the company slumped, becoming a symbol of the decline of Japan's technological prowess: a laggard to South Korean rivals in electronics and to American competitors in Internet services.
The first view ferry passengers may get of Rochester is the Hojack Swing Bridge, either as a symbol of industrial decline, or as a refurbished sign of a new entrepreneurial spirit.
