Memorial Good Or Bad Research Paper

The family and friends of victims are most touched by the memorial. They have a dignified designated site where they can get a sense of communing with the loved ones they lost. They can find names, make rubbings to bring home and leave mementos.

No war in American history not fought on American soil can claim to have as big an impact on America as a whole than the Vietnam War. The social and political divisions caused by the war changed America as a nation and especially changed those who fought in it. Despite the sacrifices of these veterans, both those who returned and those who did not, Americans on both sides forgot or even vilified those who fought, either as losers or as tokens of an unjust war. To remedy this problem through reconciliation and honor those who died in Vietnam, a group of veterans campaigned to build a national memorial in Washington, D.C. From its original design to the present

Memorializing is often the way to remember a very important, intelligent, or rich person who lives above the rest of us. When we memorialize it sets a way to remember someone long after they have passed from life. More often than not those we put in statues and remember are those who change the world for the better or discover something new like Christopher Columbus, and his statue in Riverside Park (Deegan, Jim, source B). Lincoln's memorial isn’t where or had any importance to Lincoln, but it succeeds his most infamous speech he ever had “The Gettysburg Address” (Savage, source A). H. Elroy Johnson a famous lobster trapper, had a statue made but never finished during his lifetime, not until after his death, was the real statue made to memorialize him (Roadside America, source f).

There are many monuments in the world and they are all built to honor someone or something that was done by that person. For example, after the Maine Lobsterman was built, the fake bronze statue returned to Maine and spent several decades being moved from city hall to museum to museum. No one seemed to want the man and his lobster. The issue at hand is if the monuments being built are memorializing the person or moment created accurately. Monuments capture legacy and preserve the individual's actions throughout history. Specifically, monuments should consider purpose, location, and size in their creation.

Source A (Savage) states that memorials are important to some people of our nation. For example, in Source A (Savage), the author states that "In this way the monumental core in Washington functions somewhat like a pilgrimage site, where communities of believers actually come together in the act of occupying a holy site, seeing a relic, reenacting a sacred event" (Kirk Savage). Some people go to the memorials in Washington D.C. to get a sense of how important that person was.

These memorials are in memory of the fallen soldiers and sometimes the soldiers that made it out alive.

Monuments, are how we as people can relive the past and be able to put ourselves at that time period. For Americans the 9/11 memorial puts us in the gravity and it gives us the impact of what that disaster did but, it also shows a sense of beauty with how the water falls into the spot where once stood a tall and powerful building. Monuments, have the aura that has a sense of empathy and shows more emotion than words ever could, the Holocaust museum gives a solid reminder of what genocide really is. Monuments and memorials should be based on the size location and what it is actually standing for it should be for someone who has been influential or it should be something of war or tragedy. We as Americans don’t pay attention to local cemeteries but when they see the Arlington cemetery or Vietnam memorial or even the WWII memorial people understand what death is really like and are more appreciative of those people who fought for the United States. Monuments and Memorials are not to remember those who fought for slavery, who have committed genocide, or any acts of treason and terrorism there should be no reason to make a statue that symbolizes something that a culture and a nation does not stand for anymore. Therefore, a Monument should consider the location, size, and why the monument is built along with the emotional aura that goes along with it.

Statues are typically large and may cover a fair amount of space, plaques are small-scaled, even though they are not as big as statues they still achieve their purpose which is to make people see it and remember. In the making of a memorial agencies should work with the space they have and not try to overpower it. As Maya Lin said, “I wanted my design to work with the land, to make something with the site, not to fight it or dominate it” (Source G). The memorial should stand out but not overshadow the setting.

As shown above, the presence of these monuments is not beneficial towards the people. As stated in the preceding paragraphs, monuments are not for the dead but for the living; so, honoring them will do no good to those who died but have an effect on the people still alive. These monuments all have stories to tell and those stories are apart of our past - a past we no longer claim. Honoring these statues emphasizes that black lives do not matter and that racism is still present till this

Even so, forgetfulness is not the total issue. People are now taking our history out of context because it is not what they want to hear. Many of the memorials honor Confederate leaders and soldiers without any mention on slavery, yet people do not know the truth. Humans are blind because of their ignorance. “Confederate symbols were at once works of art, affirmation of the Lost Cause and tributes to white Southerners,” (“Monumental Battle” 8). Many generations of today do not know the truth of the statues and what they stand for. The statues can be used for educational purposes if they are allowed to speak but that is decided by the people.

The people who are on the side “leave them up”, believe that the monuments represent only love and heritage, not hate. Sara Lane, an author for the Bowling Green Daily News believes that, “these are not monuments of hate. These are not monuments to slavery. Not one of the monuments suggest slavery was a good thing.” Although it may be true that there were some memorials built to remember those who fought with the Confederacy because they were forced to, most of them were not, and it is evident because they were built a long time after the Civil War ended.

Is a good monument or memorial all about looks, or is it about the contextual meaning behind it. A monument’s size, location, materials and more are all considerations when planning and creating a memorial to the past. The audience of a monument/memorial site is not as important as it’s location and funding.

Look at all the memorials in Washington, D.C. You can see valiant, white memorials with heroic individuals triumphing on top of black foundations but there is one exception. The proposed Vietnam Veteran Memorial. The Vietnam Veteran Memorial is anti-heroic. The memorial has nothing relating to the war fought. Additionally, the judging panel that chose the memorial design had no Vietnam veterans and didn’t know enough of the war.

Memorials have been the displays that represent the past. Many people from when the memorial was built, can go and learn a lot just from where it was placed. Lasting from the years of 1861 to 1865, the great American Civil War was a war that changed United States history. With American’s fighting against themselves, it was a battle in which over six hundred twenty-two thousand lives were lost. With memorials set almost everywhere in the United States, Gettysburg National Military Park has over one thousand four hundred monuments alone!