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What are the places that speak to you most about America? Places that make you think of home, think of who we are, places you enjoyed growing up.
What did you see? What came to your mind? Was it a tree-lined street in the neighborhood where you lived when you were a kid? Maybe you thought of the courthouse square, the old public library (it was a Carnegie building! Did you know that?). Whether you are an “old alum” or a “townie”, many of us will think of a college campus.
Do you remember when they changed those places? When you were a kid, didn’t they used to have a statue there on the courthouse lawn? I think it was of some old soldier in a funny hat, I can’t remember who he was or why they had him there. There were some old cannons, too, I think. There’s a flower garden now, and some piece of abstract art… a big piece of iron and concrete. Every fall when I was a kid, there was a big festival on that courthouse square to raise money to preserve old covered bridges. We would get there really early in the morning and stand in line for the breakfast sandwiches and crullers. I would sit on the base of the statue of that old soldier and sip my hot chocolate and eat my cruller. Those were great memories! I miss that old statue… I wonder why they moved it!
I took my kids to the capital over spring break. We had a good time there, but it has changed a lot, too. The kids loved going to the top of the Capital Obelisk. We used to call this place “Washington, D.C.”, but that name was associated with a former slave owner and the man who started the annihilation of the native people of Mexico and the Caribbean islands. It seems weird to have changed the name, but I guess some people were offended by it. I remember looking at a lot of statues there, too. But, like the courthouse back at home, it seems like they’ve all been replaced. Some were people who wanted slavery went to war a long time ago, I can’t remember when. There were other statues of people who fought FOR our country, not against it… but some of those people abused alcohol and tobacco, others were discovered to have supported the exploitation of women by hiring prostitutes.
There were some people who got offended by the name of the college back in my hometown. They found out that the founder for whom it was named did not believe in gender equality, like we do today. So, they now call it Mid-Atlantic Technical College. I remember riding my bike by the college library when I was a kid, and seeing a big plaque, with an eagle on top. It had the names of a lot of alumni on it. I think they died, or something, but I’m not sure how. I wish I could remember what it was about, but they took that down. People got offended by it because they thought it was “glorifying violence” to keep it up. I wonder if they were all murdered, or something.
It is strange that so much has changed since I was a kid. But, things must have been pretty bad back when our country was founded, with slavery, not letting women vote, taking away other people’s land, believing that gay people should be beaten up. You would think that, at some point in our history, SOMEBODY would have stood up to a bully once in a while. You would think that SOMEBODY would have been brave. Why not? It makes me feel ashamed of my country!
I know one thing, for sure… I’m never going to join the military! All that happens when this country goes to war is innocent people die and other countries are oppressed. I’m not going to be a sucker, like my Great Uncle Peter! I remember my grandma telling me about him. He went over to France and had to live in a ditch and get “cooties” (whatever those are) and he got sick and died.
Nope, not for me. I have a good job and a nice car and I’m safe. Nobody is bombing my town or kidnapping people here.
What a dreadful history we have here. All the oppression. Nothing worth celebrating as far as I can see.
I just don't understand how no one ever stood up against all that oppression and evil in our past. We must have always been a nation of selfish people... probably the only one.
What did you see? What came to your mind? Was it a tree-lined street in the neighborhood where you lived when you were a kid? Maybe you thought of the courthouse square, the old public library (it was a Carnegie building! Did you know that?). Whether you are an “old alum” or a “townie”, many of us will think of a college campus.
Do you remember when they changed those places? When you were a kid, didn’t they used to have a statue there on the courthouse lawn? I think it was of some old soldier in a funny hat, I can’t remember who he was or why they had him there. There were some old cannons, too, I think. There’s a flower garden now, and some piece of abstract art… a big piece of iron and concrete. Every fall when I was a kid, there was a big festival on that courthouse square to raise money to preserve old covered bridges. We would get there really early in the morning and stand in line for the breakfast sandwiches and crullers. I would sit on the base of the statue of that old soldier and sip my hot chocolate and eat my cruller. Those were great memories! I miss that old statue… I wonder why they moved it!
I took my kids to the capital over spring break. We had a good time there, but it has changed a lot, too. The kids loved going to the top of the Capital Obelisk. We used to call this place “Washington, D.C.”, but that name was associated with a former slave owner and the man who started the annihilation of the native people of Mexico and the Caribbean islands. It seems weird to have changed the name, but I guess some people were offended by it. I remember looking at a lot of statues there, too. But, like the courthouse back at home, it seems like they’ve all been replaced. Some were people who wanted slavery went to war a long time ago, I can’t remember when. There were other statues of people who fought FOR our country, not against it… but some of those people abused alcohol and tobacco, others were discovered to have supported the exploitation of women by hiring prostitutes.
There were some people who got offended by the name of the college back in my hometown. They found out that the founder for whom it was named did not believe in gender equality, like we do today. So, they now call it Mid-Atlantic Technical College. I remember riding my bike by the college library when I was a kid, and seeing a big plaque, with an eagle on top. It had the names of a lot of alumni on it. I think they died, or something, but I’m not sure how. I wish I could remember what it was about, but they took that down. People got offended by it because they thought it was “glorifying violence” to keep it up. I wonder if they were all murdered, or something.
It is strange that so much has changed since I was a kid. But, things must have been pretty bad back when our country was founded, with slavery, not letting women vote, taking away other people’s land, believing that gay people should be beaten up. You would think that, at some point in our history, SOMEBODY would have stood up to a bully once in a while. You would think that SOMEBODY would have been brave. Why not? It makes me feel ashamed of my country!
I know one thing, for sure… I’m never going to join the military! All that happens when this country goes to war is innocent people die and other countries are oppressed. I’m not going to be a sucker, like my Great Uncle Peter! I remember my grandma telling me about him. He went over to France and had to live in a ditch and get “cooties” (whatever those are) and he got sick and died.
Nope, not for me. I have a good job and a nice car and I’m safe. Nobody is bombing my town or kidnapping people here.
What a dreadful history we have here. All the oppression. Nothing worth celebrating as far as I can see.
I just don't understand how no one ever stood up against all that oppression and evil in our past. We must have always been a nation of selfish people... probably the only one.