However, after having processed what we learned today as well as having watched the movie Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery on HBO (click here for the synopsis), my views have changed. Arlington is a place of extreme dichotomy: we have heroism
But we also have segregated sections of the cemetery where blacks, American citizens and former slaves who served before them, were placed apart for their white counterparts. And furthermore, Confederate soldiers have a separate and preserved section for themselves, separate from black soldiers and Union soldiers. While certainly many of these men simply fought to protect their homes, some certainly understood treason and believed they were fighting to preserve a horrible institution. How can such a place, a place that is supposed to be about heroic men, have such a dirty past?
After having watched Section 60 which details the stories of men and women who have fought and died in Iraq and Afghanistan and are buried in the new Section 60 of the cemetery and chronicles the lives of their still living loved ones, I also changed my view of the Cemetery. I am personally against the war for too many reasons to bore you with. So, what's the point? The point is, while undoubtedly these men and women who are in Section 60 are heroes who should be honored as such, to me Arlington is now, more than ever, a reflection of the stupidity of the American government in the early 21st century as well a permanent reminder for all future generations to take a more active role in government, while also to be mindful of the fact that the actions of the present can possibly tarnish America for decades to come.
Section 60 is the living part of Arlington; it is constantly being filled with the newly deceased and therefore Arlington is never a complete monument. It will constantly change, as it's meaning has changed over the past decade for myself and probably for many other Americans.
Also, the fact that while most of Arlington has the lovely, plain, and egalitarian headstones,
I was troubled by the quite ostentatious headstones of some of our past Judicial and Military leaders.
Certainly these men are important, served their country in various capacities, but are their contributions more important to the country than a Private who dies for his country? I don't know, really, but I feel like the Cemetery is supposed to be about perceived equality, and that can never be achieved with these much more grandiose headstones. Even JFK, and to an even greater extent RFK's headstones seem more appropriate than those above.
Now on a different side, I was able to tape most of the Changing of the Guards ceremony and here is a link to the YouTube video. It's a little shaky!
The trip to Arlington was very moving. The "colored section" as an out growth of the Freedman's village was totally new to me. If you have seen ceremonies over the years on television at Arlington you have a tendency to look at the site as one dimension--tombs of soldiers who deserve to be memorialized. Never was theere reference to the African American section or the actual begining of the site as a cemetery. Our history is really never one dimensional, but multi-layered.
ReplyDeleteThe morning after we visited Arlington National Cemetery, I read this article over breakfast: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/29/AR2009072901484.html?referrer=emailarticle
ReplyDeleteI was struck by the dichotomy between the grandeur of Arlington, an elaborate memorial to veterans and valor, and the families struggling to identify their relatives buried in a cemetery where the markers have been lost.
Arlington really does reflect our "National Identity" and how that identity changes over time and space. The beginnings of the cemetery clearly show, whether for expedience or not, that there was a realization at least in death "All men are created equal". Yet changing political realties, based on race affected where those who gallantly died would later be buried. Each section of the cemetery demonstrates a national identity, born out of the social realities of the day. It was a very disturbing, yet moving experience.
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ReplyDeleteI have to agree with June: Arlington does indeed, and maybe even more than the White House and the Capitol, reflect our National Identity; it perhaps tells us ordinary Americans more about the many lives - and sacrifices - of so many OTHER ordinary Americans sleeping here. (My one personal choice of exception is the JFK grave).
ReplyDeleteAs Michael pointed out so helpfully in this piece - much could be said of the importance and moral value of remembering all the ordinary men and women, deceased, as he observed the simultaneous ostentatiousness - something that I also felt when being there - of the much larger headstones for the More Famous dead (e.g. Marshall, Rickover, et al) in contrast to the much smaller, humbler headstones of nearly everyone else as he asks: "Certainly these men are important, served their country in various capacities, but are their contributions more important to the country than a Private who dies for his country..."?
The cemetery has a history of many histories - etched in sadness and wonder for all time. It is worth a thousand visits - and many more hours of reflection.
I have to agree with June and Kevin on this one. I liked how Kevin said these Americans are merely sleeping here. I feel that since so many people come to tour the cemetery as well as come to pay respects to their relatives, sons, daughters, husbands, and loved ones, that these men and women are merely resting there. Arlington is the ultimate "Lest we forget" moment/monument in American history. If we keep going and remembering the dichotomy of our history as well as the sacrifices, they will never truly be dead
ReplyDeleteI also agree with June that Arlington is at times disturbing. For example, in discussing our trip to a friend this week, I mentioned how the Confederate soldiers were re-interned in their own section with a monument after the Civil War because of their relatives discomfort about having them buried with African Americans. I said I thought it was rather despicable that our country would do such a thing. She responded, but are you really surprised? And to tell you all the truth, considering our country's history, I am not at all surprised. This is a portion of American history we need to use in our classrooms to show our kids that the majesty of the post war America wasn't all it was cracked up to be.