And Then There's This... Living in Past Tense
By disposition, I am a weeper. My tears flow copiously when I think of slaves kidnapped, tortured, degraded and worked to death, miners massacred for unionizing, little Indian kids cruelly separated from their families and parents grief-stricken for sons and daughters killed in wars. Whatever my cardiac deficiencies may be, a hard heart isn't one of them.
But I think the memorial structures and holidays inspired by these rapidly receding historical events are pointless — except, of course, for those who cynically seek wealth and/or stature by keeping old wounds open. If we have a modicum of decency, we don't need these artificial stimulants to cause us to embrace good and reject evil. Every time someone pitches me to support the creation of another superfluous memorial, I'm certain when I scroll down the page there'll be a “Donate” button.
What are we left with if our ritualistically prodded memories lead — as they do — only to somber faces and synthetic expressions of regret? As I see it, there’s entirely too much moral posturing about the unchangeable past and too little direct action toward improving the changeable present. Don't we have enough problems to solve without wasting our time in collective nostalgia?
Pausing to acknowledge past calamities and sacrifices doesn't do anything toward making us more ardent and agile in addressing today's needs. And those who glibly maintain we must remember the past to keep from repeating its flaws have obviously never looked at today's headlines.
Just to torment myself at the clammy embrace of the remembrance industry, I put together these lists. Maybe if you stay awake 24/7, you can reflect — impotently, of course — on all of them.
MEMORIAL MUSEUMS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.: National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Museum of Asian Art, National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of African Art, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, National Museum of Women in the Arts, National Museum of American History.
MEMORIAL MONUMENTS IN WASHINGTON, D.C. AREA: Korean War Veterans Memorial, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, World War II Memorial, FDR Memorial, Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, U.S. Marines Iwo Jima Memorial, U.S. Navy Memorial, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, John F. Kennedy Memorial Flame, Arlington National Cemetery.
NATIONAL MEMORIAL HOLIDAYS: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day and Veterans Day.
So much to remember! I guess we'll either have to burn our calendars or else swallow a memory chip.
(Please send your comments or questions to stormcoast@mindspring.com with “And Then There's This” in the subject line. And thank you for reading.)
