Monumental Thoughts, Part Two

Another Columbus Monument Story

I'm opposed to the concept of cemeteries.  They're a colossal waste of space and money, not to mention an unsustainable practice in the long run.  Imagine if every person on earth insisted on his or her own private 6-foot burial hole and headstone, to be maintianed forever.  Soon there would be nothing but graves and no space for anything  else -- Planet Cemetery.

Obviously, the dead must be disposed of one way or another.  The practice of burial goes back thousands of years, but the "modern" public, landscaped-style cemetery with its markers and monuments dates to the early 1700's in Europe.  Even though these park-like graveyards take up large amounts of land, they're also often beautiful, quiet places with exquisite old carved stonework.

Although such places are essentially obsolete, and I don't want to wind up in one, I must confess I like 'em.  As a very young boy, my father would take me to walk in a nearby cemetery.  And as a young man, I spent a pleasant summer working in a municipal cemetery, cutting grass and tending to the grounds.  I've developed a certain appreciation of, and respect for, historic old boneyards*.

Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio was originally a Civil War training camp for Union soldiers.  It soon became a POW camp for Confederate prisoners.  Today, it includes a cemetery where over 2200 Confederate soldiers are buried.  The grounds feature a memorial arch topped by a statue of a Confederate soldier.

Last week, in the dark and in a misguided act of "protest," the statue was pulled down and the figure's head was removed.

I'm also opposed to public monuments which honor the Confederacy, but I'll grant an exception for military cemeteries with statues commemorating the war dead.  These was no need to vandalize the Camp Chase cemetery. 

We have a right to speak out and demonstrate and protest, but cemeteries -- spots for for peaceful contemplation -- are generally not the place to do it.
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*If you ever have the chance, visit the Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Established in 1844, it is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.  At 733 acres, the place is huge with plenty of wow-factor monuments.  Get a map or you'll get lost for sure.  Famous graves there include Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, New York Yankees manager Miller Huggins, and both Procter and Gamble.