Monuments and Personal Connections

Based on our discussions this week, I think I've reached the conclusion that having a personal connection to a monument is a large part of what makes it meaningful- and that there's varying degrees of personal connection. I spoke briefly in class about going to Israel and seeing a memorial for a battle of the Israeli War of Independence that my grandfather actually participated in (he was an engineer and determined the correct angle to fire the cannons at.) That was a more moving experience for me then going to the Korean or World War I memorials, because I don't have any relatives or friends who fought in those wars. Interestingly, it isn't even as if I've grown up with grandpa telling me stories about the war- he died when I was one...and yet somehow knowing of his participation still made a big difference.

I do still have some level of connection to the memorials on the Mall- I am an American and these memorials are commemorating American participation in these wars. I don't think that going to Canada and checking out their memorials would feel quite the same. I'm thinking a lot about what kind of personal connections people could have- would the Lincoln memorial be more meaningful for an African-American? The Roosevelt memorial for someone who had a grandfather working in New Deal created programs? Clearly the biggest personal connection is having actually fought in the war a memorial is commemorating, which is why it isn't a surprise that some of the most memorable moments people had while studying the monuments this week involved veterans. Having a family member that died might be the second biggest connection...I suppose an equivalent for me would be the Holocaust Museum, although I never knew my great-grandparents or other relatives who were among those murdered.

This raises the question of if one can still appreciate a monument if they have absolutely no personal connection. I'm not sure, but I think the answer is that everyone kind of has at least a slight personal connection since we are all fellow members of the human race.