Monumenting

IN 1770, a statue of King George III was erected in new York city. It was the only monument in the thirteen colonies. It didn't last long. six years later, in July of 1776, ablaze with revolutionary fervor, colonists hammered the king's nose,, then toppled the entire statue, melted it down,, and remade the metal into musket balls, which were eventually returned to the British in unfriendly fashion. When George Washington died in 1799, a debate ensued over whether to erect a monument in his honor. Those opposed argued that doing so would be undemocratic, antithetical to the very ideals for which Washington fought, and remindful of King George III. A monument to Washington was erected in the rotunda of the nation's capitol building, depicting a bare chested, muscular Washington seated on a throne like Zeus, conveying a godlike aura. By 1830 a statue of George Washington stood near Boston harbor. This time Washington was standing, clad in a Roman toga. Tourist Davy Crockett, in town to promote his book, said that a man "arter be shown wearing his own clothing", an arguable point. Shortly before the Civil War, construction of the Washington monument was begun, interrupted during the war, and completed afterwards, ending all controversy concerning Washington's personal appearance with the abstract, symbolic monolithic structure we know so well today. People have been building monuments and tearing them down amid political turmoil since the dawn of neolithic civilization. Human nature seems to inspire us to memorialize permanently in stone the people we consider to be our greatest leaders and heroes, as a means perhaps of paying tribute to ourselves. Amid recent social controversies we are beginning to ask ourselves exactly who should be immortalized in monuments. since all people have serious character flaws, it may be that it is never appropriate to elevate anyone to a place of special glory, but better to either memorialize no one, or everyone. maybe a system of temporary monuments could be installed, like Cape Canaveral was renamed "Cape Kennedy" for ten years after teh assassination of President Kennedy. Or better yet, abstract monuments to the human spirit, symbolizing nobody in particular but everybody in general might be the most appropriate form of respect to give ourselves.