We humans are a remembering people.
No matter what our culture, we remember. Some peoples tell stories of the doings of heroic men and women from generation to generation, or read these epics from long ago.
Some peoples build monuments.
Some peoples write history books.
Some peoples photograph and blog about these things.
All so we remember.
I looked through my phone's photo app and found these rememberings.
A monument in Sanford, Florida, paying tribute to Thomas Jefferson and what he wrote to John Adams on January 11, 1816: "A nation united can never be conquered."
Virginia Civil Rights Memorial, Richmond, Virginia.
Another panel of the memorial.
In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the site of the most important and most famous battle of the United States Civil War, July 1-3, 1863, you walk on the battlefield grounds and you pass monument after monument. I've visited a number of Civil War (and several Revolutionary War) battle sites but Gettysburg is unique in the number of monuments honoring the soldiers who fought (and died) there those three days.
This is the monument for our local regiment that fought at Gettysburg, and played a pivotal part in the second day of the battle. 26% of the members of the regiment did not survive the war.
Not all monuments and memorials are grim. This one is at Bethel Woods, New York, where the Woodstock music festival was held in 1969.
Finally, a remembrance of various giraffes who have lived at Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York. Anyone remember April, the giraffe who gave birth with thousands of people watching online and sparked an interest in giraffe conservation? Alas, she passed away last....April.
So why do we remember? So we can be inspired? So we can learn lessons in how to live from those who preceded us? So that we learn the mistakes of history and hope we won't repeat them? I would say "All of the above".
"R" day of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme: "From Florida to Vermont With Stops In Between".
We have a a small memorial at our Civic Center honoring the Tuskegee Airmen. I can't think of any other memorial in my community.
ReplyDelete...our divided nation is in trouble.
ReplyDeleteOhmyword, yes! All of the above!
ReplyDeleteI remember April.
ReplyDeleteIf only there were more monuments to women and families. Remember the marginalized. Celebrate the peaceful and the quiet, remembrance is due so many.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I breeze past monuments and statues, hardly noticing. It's good to pause a moment for them.
ReplyDeleteWithout the monuments so many of us would forget. US history is lacking in so many ways, I know I didn't learn half of what you share with us!
ReplyDeleteNice collection of monuments.
ReplyDelete