monument of marine corp

The Marine Corps War Memorial monument was inspired by a photograph of six US Marines lifting the country's flag on Mount Suribachi after the Second World War encounter on Iwo Jima. The memorial is built to be a tangible reflection of an incident that culture wants to remember years later. The Marine Corps Monument commemorates the disaster and battle on Iwo Jima, as well as the US victory. Monuments are tangible manifestations of a people's history. For more than seven decades, the memorial has represented American bravery. While some individuals perceive monuments as necessary in the concept of patriotism others, consider statues as the epitome of lowering moral significance. Individuals that identify with the Marine Corp Monument maintain that the representation is more than the picture of raising the American flag. They insist it showcases the US Marines pride in their country. The article argues while monuments increase patriotism they endanger morality and the concept of democracy that illustrates the American dream.

History of the Marine Corp Monument

Texas has been the home of the Marine Corp Monument since 1982. However, the history of this representation dates back to 1945 during the Second World War. On February 19th, 1945, participants of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine attacked the Iwo Jima Island expecting little to no resistance. However, the Japanese, an ally of the USA had spent fortifying the island through underground tunnels. A struggle ensued that lasted almost one month with more than 6000 US Marines perishing. On the fifth day of the battle, the US Marines raise two flags atop Mount Suribachi. Photographer Joe Rosenthal captured the second flag-raising (Hariman and Lucaites 364). The photograph showcased five US Marines and one Navy raising the USA flag. The picture received extensive reactions across the globe. The photo prompted Felix de Weldon a sculptor and retired Navy-man to create a statue made of bronze. In 1954, on the 179th anniversary of the Marine Corp, President Dwight Eisenhower dedicated the statue in Arlington Virginia (Hariman and Lucaites 365). Almost three decades later, De Weldon gifted his original statue to MMA which was then assigned the Iwo Jima monument in 1982.

The monument inspires loyalty since it reflects a time when the USA came together to pursue a common goal of defeating the enemy. The flame of the Second World War unified the country when it was still recovering from a severe economic recession between 1937 and 1938. The country’s involvement in the Second World War illustrates a concept of patriotism (Donohoe 340). Moreover, the monument displays US Marines raising the nation’s flag amidst a battle showcasing proof of identification with the USA.

Monuments and Patriotism

Commemoration is a common practice in the USA that is deeply rooted in the country’s culture. It is no surprise that majority of the American commemorative practices are shaped around war and tragedy and its aftermath with the need to inspire patriotism. Traditionally, public monuments were the most prominent forms of the memorial since they are designed as a permanent representation of public remembrance that lasts for centuries. It is essential to realize monument tend to shape social relations and culture building rather than merely reflecting the events of a particular time such as the battle at Iwo Jima (Hariman and Lucaites 372). Despite the concept that monuments are eternal and unchanging in the reflection of specific events, the meaning attached to a particular statue evolves as the society places new concerns and understanding to it.

People against memorials argue that commemorative rituals and monuments are obsolete in the face of democracy and literacy. Many Americans against the concept and validity of statue maintain that true memory lies in the heart but not a pile of stone. Indeed, these individuals argue monuments such as the marine Corp are a representation of a collective memory which is different from history. History aims for the unprejudiced truth whereas the collective consciousness inspired by monuments entails the support of a team restricted in space and time (Bodnar 34). Marine Corp Monument stimulates an adaptive process of reconstructing the past based on the societal present needs and contexts that relate to the monument of US Marines raising the country’s flag during the war. In recent years, it is evident that collective memory is constructed based on a political battleground. The article agrees with the assertion that societies tend to reconstruct their past rather than recording events as they happen. The reconstruction of the history is fueled by the needs of the contemporary culture in mind and showcases an attempt to mold the present aspect of patriotism.

It is apparent that the modern societies and nations, especially in Western culture value individualism. While commemoration aspects such as the Marine Corp Monument were created to honor the US Marines who during the battle took a moment to raise the country’s flag, it often inspires patriotism. Building of the monument may (Bodnar 33)indicate the manipulation of the past to make up for the lack of organic unity in the contemporary communities. Monuments often act as a way of the state to mythologize itself hence inspiring loyalty of its citizen. National patriotism usually works to mediate and combine individual and state interests. Commemoration often encompasses the battle for supremacy between individuals that advocate for various political ideas and sentiments in the current society.

Patriotism describes the aspect of an individual or group of people putting the needs of the state before their interest. Regarding the conceptualization of nationalism, it reflects honoring the country and the government without question. The “American dream” on the other hand upholds the concept of democracy. The American dream is a sociopolitical constructed notion where citizens of the USA believe that it is possible to achieve a level of development where self-will is valued above everything else. The USA is among the most diverse societies across the globe with sociocultural practices that shift regularly and rapidly. The concept of upholding free-will including freedom of expression as a human right is essential if the country is to achieve the level of democracy it desires (Schatz, Staub and Lavine 157). It is a common notion that the state often aligns with the majority and ignores or undermines the needs of the minorities. Since monuments tend to reconstruct history based on the current events, it is deductible that the understandings attached to statues might reflect the values of the nation consequently deflating the needs of other groups.

Many scholars have asserted how patriotism is used as a tool by political domains to gain public support. It is apparent that indeed commemoration activities such as monument building inspires patriotism whether it is borne of an individual need to identify with his or her country or the state manipulation. However, the question at hand is whether the patriotism is a virtue or a source of moral danger that ignores core human rights value such as the freedom of expression. On October 10th 2017, the New York Times published an article mentioning the US President Donald Trump criticism on National Football league for not penalizing players that knelt during the national anthem (Belson and Draper). In the past few years, NFL players have been expressing their dissatisfaction with the system by kneeling during the national anthem. The players maintain that their protesting is against the injustices African Americans face including the recent upsurge in police brutality. Some of the fans support the players that are protesting insisting that it is only through fighting for their freedom will they achieve equality and finally move beyond the concept of white supremacy.

However, a majority of NFL fans insist that they will refrain from watching the game since the protests reflect a betrayal of patriotism. President Trump tweeted that the failure of NFL to take actions against players that refuse to stand is a total disrespect to the nation. It is important to pinpoint that Trump used the concept of patriotism to criticize the actions of NFL (Belson and Draper). As reflected in the Marine Corp, raising of the flag is the primary idea of patriotism as such according to many the failure to stand is disloyalty. The article in the New York Times illustrates the ultimate dilemma of whether patriotism is a moral danger or virtue.

Many scholars have written on how citizen’s patriotism makes them especially vulnerable to the state’s falsehood (Keller 563). Patriotism is a bad faith in the event a patriot's beliefs are confronted with undeniable proof of deception; the individual will avoid making the same conclusion by ignoring the evidence or formulating another ideology that explains the evidence. A patriot will believe in the state that he or she will ignore evidence that illustrates an apparent injustice in the society (Keller 580). Patriotism inspires self-sacrifice and a certain level of egotism that may ultimately affect the relationship between an individual and others in the community. It involves the generalization of every person in the society as yet another part of the state which endangers morality. Patriotism could essentially force a person into a morally questionable behavior whether it is racial bias or a false perception of one’s country which results in practicing of bad faith. A patriot is involved in a certain sense of favoritism since he regards citizen of a particular country to be superior to others.

As mentioned, states may use commemoration figures such as monuments to incite the concept of patriotism in the passive minded in efforts to advance a specific political ideology. Individuals that are entirely dedicated to patriotism without any consciousness of the level of self-sacrifice tend to fall prey to negative aspects of patriotism that champion the majority hence creating separatism. Patriotism encourages putting its cause above all else thus when patriotism comes face to face with an individual’s principles, he or she is likely to choose the state hence neglecting personal choice (Keller 581). Since it champions one’s country, it leads to a hypocritical assessment of the events in the country which reflects a vice in the lack of honesty self-analysis. This indicates one may ignore the negative truths and mistakes of the country while highlighting only the positive attributes. Keller (580) asserts that patriotism is a vice since it involves deception of facts.

The egoistic and self-sacrifice aspects of patriotism creates social chasms including racial division. While the Marine Corp may inspire patriotism, it may indirectly lead to increased racial biases and other social bridges that may ultimately undermine the concept of equality a core unit in human rights advocacy. When putting one’s needs above everything else, a person fails to showcase and express qualities that promote peace, ethnic understanding and tolerance. The US society is built on diversity social division illustrate much more significant problems that limit development.

However, despite concepts that patriotism is a moral danger some authors reflect that some aspects of loyalty are essential in promoting societal morality. For instance, in the idea of constitutional patriotism, individuals abide by the rules and mandates of the constitution which support human rights including the freedom of expression. Since patriotism describes loyalty to the state, and the law is a vital part of the state constitutional patriotism is indeed reflects an aspect of citizens acknowledging each other as free and equal people (Muller 12). The constitution is meant to protect individuals from excessive power of the government hence constitutional patriotism reflects individual attachment to a system that upholds the needs of every person whether a minority or a majority.

Regarding this argument, patriotism is a virtue that structures morality in the modern society. The Marine Corp Monument inspires patriotism when individuals identify with the six soldiers who despite the battle, decided to honor their country by raising the flag atop Mount Suribachi. Individuals can relate to their struggles which they experienced as a united group and prompt them to express morality and uphold human rights. Moreover, some articles show that patriotism is a necessary evil since it influences a sense of belonging which is essential for every human being as a social creature (Donohoe 240). Indeed, the thought of belonging associated with patriotism inspires a more self-adjusted and happier person who influences the development of morality in the society.

Conclusion

How past events are created, consumed and acted upon remains a matter of debate between and amongst scholars. Based on the arguments presented, the article asserts commemoration activities such as building monuments fuels the states mythological importance which inspires patriotism that in some instances endanger morality. The analysis of whether patriotism is a virtue or a deprivation of righteousness indicates that the state demands patriotism to the extent it neglects the American dream. It is necessary for patriotism to be aligned with the core human rights values. Similarly, if the commemoration of previous events is used to further current circumstances, it is essential that the activities act as a way to influence fair and equal sociopolitical policies. Patriotism should not be a blind loyalty to the state but instead be a reflection of the entire nation aspiration for equality and prosperity. The Marine Corp Monument reminds Americans of what the US Marines represented and their responsibilities which were to protect the country’s interests. It is essential for politicians and the state to refrain from using the symbol to further social chasm such as religious and racial divisions.



























Works Cited

Belson , Ken and Kevein Draper. "Trump Crtiticizes N.F.L for not Penalizing Anthem Kneeling." 17 October 2017. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/sports/football/nfl-anthem-protests-trump.html. Accessed 15 December 2017

Bodnar, John E. Remaking America: Public Memory, Commemoration and Patriotism in the Twentieth Century . Princeton University Press , 1992.

Donohoe, Janet. "Dwelling with Monuments." Philosophy and Geography vol.5,no.2 ,2002, pp.235-243.

Hariman , Robert and John Loius Lucaites. "Performing Civic Identity: The Iconic photograph of the Flag Raising on Iwo Jima." Quarterly Journal of Speech vol.88, no.4, 2002, pp.363-392.

Keller, Simon. "Patriotism as Bad Faith." Ethics vol.115, no.3 ,2005, pp. 563-592.

Muller , Jan-Werner . Constitutional Patriotism. Princeton University Press , 2007. EBSCOhost.

Schatz, Robert, Ervin Staub and Howard Lavine. "On the Varieties of National Attachment: Blind Versus Constructive Patriotism." Political Psychology vol.20, no.1 ,1999, pp.151-174.