Why Remember?


“Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.”1- Bertrand Russell. If this quote is true then there would be no need to wonder why we have to remember. Most everyone in all of the world’s countries would consider themselves patriots of that country, but after any war or crisis where people are sent to die, or something happens that kills large amounts of people, there are always those who question and wonder why it happened in the first place. According to this quote they shouldn’t ask why, they should already know that as a patriot they are killing and dying for any reason they are given. The government doesn’t always want to face the question of “Why?”, especially as it usually comes from those who lost a loved one or were left behind. Sometimes the governments that the patriots place so much faith in don’t even know. The only solution to the problem is remembrance, remembrance of those “patriots” that did kill and were killed for trivial reasons and didn’t ask why. Memorialization is the key to maintaining cohesion and order of a nation. To understand why memorialization is key to cohesion we must define what memorialization is, how it has been used in the past, and how it is being used now.


What exactly is memorialization? According to Princeton WordNet Dictionary memorialization is commemoration: a ceremony to honor the memory of someone or something.2 Memorialization can be just a short moment of silence on special occasions like a birthday or an anniversary. It can include special remembrance items, like jewelry, trees, books, collections, and other such items.3 Memorialization, as a means to honor or remember someone who has died before us, is something that has been going on for ages. Ancient cultures such as the Chinese, Egyptians, and Greeks all commemorated their dead through memorialization. Often times each form of memorialization would be unique to the specific culture of time period.4


Memorialization isn’t anything new in history by any means. All throughout ancient histories different cultures would use it as a mean of remember people or deities, as a means to keep their nations together. In many ancient cultures they relied on their beliefs or leaders to get them through hard times. As a way to remember these leaders or gods the people would erect memorials, which would remind them of this success and help them stay together as a nation. Archaeologists have made discoveries in Europe that tell us memorialization was a highly significant part of life before the birth of Christ. Acts such as wall carvings, cave paintings and burial rituals all point to memorialization.4 The Chinese made memorialization through their writings for more than 13 centuries before the birth of Christ, while the Egyptians built monumental structures in memorialization of their deceased, just like the ancient Greeks.4 One such example is the Arch of Hadrian in Greece. It was built in 200 AD to commemorate the Roman emperor Hadrian. The memorial was erected after Hadrian became the new founder of Athens; he took over from the previous ruler Theseus and even placed him in the hearts of all the Athenians.5 The Roman Pantheon is another great example of memorialization in history. The Pantheon was originally built in 27 BC, it has since been added onto and renovated but more recent emperors. It is a memorial built to honor all the Roman gods and goddesses. The word Pantheon is actually Greek meaning “every god”. The structure actually contains a statue of every Roman deity Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Venus, Minerva, Neptune, Ceres, Vulcan, Diana, Bacchus, Mercury, Vesta, Isis, Pan, Mithras, and Lares. It was later renovated to add a temple onto the back section of the original building containing the statues.6 Memorialization isn’t just contained within the past; on the contrary it has stretched from the ancient past up through the more recent past to even the present.


Throughout history memorialization hasn’t exactly stayed the same. In a little more recent history memorialization was a big thing, especially in the post WWI era. After the war was over the European countries and even the United States were have worries about the collapse of national cohesion. To insure this national unity they used quotes like “Spirit of the Trenchers” and passage from the bible 1 John 2:2 “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” They used these quotes and phrases to make it feel like these men died for a higher cause then the pointless objects of war. To further remember these men they later built memorial grave sites, some towns also have individualized monuments to them.7 Monuments like this can been seen from the remains of the other wars leading up to the present, such as the WWII and the Vietnam War there are memorials to remember these events in Washington D.C. Here in present times in the United States there are still war memorials, there have also been memorials formed for other people that have died though. In recent times we have moved away from material memorials to more electronic memorials. A lot of the memorials now for the fallen soldiers are videos that are posted to sites like YouTube. Things that easily accessed by everyone, things that really show you what these people fought for to bring together a nation to protect the memories of these people and the others that have died. There are also websites like My Death Space, which was designed as a memorial for people that have either died or been murdered. It is a place to discuss your feelings about what has happened to these people and how you feel. These are things that help to bring people close together in times of trouble so that our nation stays connected.


Whether it be a stone monument, a YouTube video, or a form of ancient writing memorialization is a very important part in all the cultures of the world today and in the past. Not everyone is a patriot and they ask why these events have occurred and what the purpose of these wars and deaths were. The best answer we have come up with is the act of remembrance through memorialization. The act of remembering those that have either fought for their country in a war with no purpose or those that were murdered for no justifiable reason. We must remember them as a country and as a nation so that we might grow closer and understand why these things happen, and also allow our nation to function and keep in order. Memorialization might not have been the best answer to the threat of national disorder, but is the solution we found and one that has worked pretty well so far.



References
1. Russell, Bertrand. "Patriotism Quote." The Quotations Page. 12 Apr. 2009 .
2. "Definition of Memorialization." WordNet. 13 Apr. 2009 .
3. "What is Memorialization." Morrison Funeral Home. 15 Apr. 2009 .
4. "The History of Memorialization." Classic Memorials. 12 Apr. 2009 .
5. "Arch of Hadrian." The Ancient City of Athens. 14 Apr. 2009 <. http://www.stoa.org/athens/sites/archofhadrian.html>.
6. "Roman Pantheon." All About History. 15 Apr. 2009 .
7. Montoya, Benjamin. "“A United Empire”: Remembrance of “the Fallen” as a form of National Cohesion in post-Great War England, 1918-20." History Seminar. Highline Community College, Des Moines. 8 Apr. 2009.