Reflection 1

Professor Hass' lecture on the War Memorials was insightful on how many discrepancies there were when it came to the memorials.  Before this class I had not learned much about the memorials besides that they exist.  Hearing about the competition that was used to decide what the WWII memorial and how important the race of the statues were really surprised me.  I didn't imagine a memorial as something controversial but instead as a way of remembering the past.  Now I realize that the memorials had to accommodate the correct representation of the soliders and that was a difficult task based on what happened and what those in the states saw. 

 A point we addressed in discussion was the purpose of the memorials and what those who participated in the wars felt about them.  It seems that the war participants didn't really want the millions of dollars spent on the memorials but would rather that money be spent in a way that will help those still living.  While the purpose of memorials is meaningful and respectful of the soliders' who fought for our country there are cheaper ways to recognize them and everything they did.  For instance, we could spend more time in school recognizing their importance and how much they did for our nation.  

Another point recently addressed in section was whether memorials will be built for current wars or recent movements.  I feel they will not be built because of how expensive they are.  Currently, we especially don't have the millions of dollars to spend creating memorials.  Different measures should be taken by educating the nation about what occurred.  This will help us all remember the past and see what needs to be done in future situations that may be similar.