Statues celebrating death

 

                                            Northern Civil War General George Gordon Meade.

 

My husband mentioned this morning, that in our travels the majority of the statues we see are of generals.

In the U.S. there's been a controversy about statues of Civil War generals. Many have been removed because history has changed their status from hero to traitor depending if you're from the North or South.

No matter how you look at it, no matter the reason for the battle, generals led people to their deaths. War has been the majority of what is written about history.

 Oliver Cromwell

War is destructive. The reasons for past wars get lost, diminished in importance. England's Civil War ended with the restoration of the monarchy for example. People now go to theatre without worrying about being punished. Do most people even think of the religious restrictions Oliver Cromwell enforced? It doesn't matter now that some 80,000 people died for their religious beliefs. Let's put up a statue anyway.

War often is thought of as something glorious, patriotic. It isn't.

I wish there were more statues to writers, artists, philosophers, scientists, people who celebrate life not destroy it for reasons of money or power. I suppose whipping up people into a frenzy of patriotism to allegedly protect whatever is effective if you want those things. 

 Oscar Wilde outside his home in Dublin

And yes, we have seen statues to the thinkers and creators. Oscar Wilde is just one example.

 

And then there are statues for beauty alone, famous and not famous. One of my favorites is two nuns dancing in Martigny, Switzerland.