Though I haven't visited it in several years, my most memorable "exhibit" is
unquestionably the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. I have no perso
nal
losses associated with that war, but it tore my heart out and I cried every time
I visited and saw the letters, flowers, pictures, and other memorabilia deposit
ed there by
people who REMEMBERED and CARED. That was a dozen years ago, and the
immediacy may be dulled by time, but the evidence of people's responses to somet
hing
the Memoria touched in them was overpowering.
Intellectually, Gary Machlis has pointed out that we could interpret 4 aspects o
f war:
origins, conduct (strategy and tactics), technology, and effects. Far and away,
we see the second and third interpreted. The Memorial brings "effects" home wi
th a
sledge hammer!
On a historical note, that is the first example of this kind of response to a me
morial that I
am aware of, and there have since been similar responses at the Storm King Fire
site, the Oklahoma City Federal Building, and a number of other tragedies. It s
eems
qualitatively different from the laying of flowers that one more commonly sees.
I'd be
interested in hearing from folks who are aware of precedents.
Tom V.
--
Tom Vaughan \_ Cultural
The Waggin' Tongue \_ Resource
<[log in to unmask]> \_ Management,
11795 Road 39.2 \_ Interpretation,
Mancos, CO 81328 USA \_ Planning, &
(970) 533-1215 \_ Training
--
Tom Vaughan \_ Cultural
The Waggin' Tongue \_ Resource
<[log in to unmask]> \_ Management,
11795 Road 39.2 \_ Interpretation,
Mancos, CO 81328 USA \_ Planning, &
(970) 533-1215 \_ Training
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