237. Monuments

On Memorial Day weekend around here it usually rains. No exception this year. So many people around here go camping, stopping by cemeteries to lay flowers on the graves of loved ones. We typically don’t camp, but we often visit a cemetery or two. That did not happen this year because we spent a week in Connecticut doing just that at the beginning of May. But one thing about the holiday that has struck me is the beauty of all the monuments we have in this country and how they help us stop and ponder the events that our nation has endured or enjoyed in the past.

I can’t say I think all monuments, in and of themselves, are wonderful. All of the monuments to confederates that were erected well after the southern states were reentered into the union are monuments to traitors that lost in their cause to rip our nation apart. I fully understand the desire to topple those by anyone who loves this country. Monuments are things that make my family cringe when I see them because I always want to stop and read them, and they are everywhere.

Monuments are historical markers of events and people that were and are important to their communities. These are everything from tombstones to roadside historical markers. They are the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Statue of Liberty. They are the Golden Gate Bridge and the sign at the park remembering Riverside Dance Hall and all the famous bands that came to play there. Sometimes they have poems like “Send me your tired and weary,” or “Here lies the body of…” Sometimes their markings are very prosaic, mentioning very simply the event or person they stand for. Sometimes you get enough information from the monument and sometimes they leave you hanging so you have to research their purpose. Sometimes they are just stones, while other times they are entire structures or buildings. Monuments are incredibly diverse, but they cause us to remember things and people that might easily be forgotten. Monuments are vital to our continuing understanding of ourselves and I love that.