Vietnam Flowers

The Vietnam War is remembered in many ways. Most of the memories are bitter. But a few, like the Wall of Vietnam in Washington DC, are sweet and honorable. The wall is an amazing piece of work. There are no pictures, but only names of the men that have to set Vietnam free from Communism. The Wall of Vietnam isn’t the only powerful memorial in America. There is a quilt to all of the people that have AIDS in America. But, what makes a memorial? It all depends on who it is dedicated to.

The first question to what makes a memorial is what makes it "monument" to the people for whom it speaks? A memorial does one thing: help the future generations remember the mistakes and goals from the past. It’s supposed to teach a lesson to the people. That what seems to make it monument. The AIDS quilt helps the youth of America to remember all of those who have fallen victim to the disease. It also opens their eyes to a reality they cannot escape. The quilt is designed to help them go take the test for their heal and practice safer methods of sex. If a memorial holds a strong effect on the person that views it, then the memorial is monument.

The quilt helps to make the politicians and younger generations aware of the problem with AIDS in America. Not only for this country alone. Many people and charities are working to spread out to Africa and other poor countries. Many drugs have been made to slow down the process of HIV in the human body. Many celebrities are coming out about having HIV and AIDS. MTV and many popular channels are promoting the youth to go and get themselves tested. There is a month dedicated to AIDS awareness. AIDS was even made known in books like It Happened to Nancy and movies like Rent. One can never escape a warning so powerful. Awareness about the disease is spreading like wild fire.

The government is empowers the public to stay healthy from AIDS. The case of the disease has dropped in the states over the years. But that is not enough! People still need to be aware of what is out there! Knowing and practicing are two different things. It is good that people know about the dangers of AIDS. But how many are acting on it seriously? As it was said before, the US isn’t the only country in the middle of the AIDS crisis. Some people are reaching out to other countries in the world. But will that be enough? The government needs to double up and keep up the powerful work for the future generations yet to come. Any longer and most of the human race will be wiped out.

The quilt helps to connect the people on a personal level. The media can show the people the truth. But it falls short on connecting them personally. But when these people see the quilt with the names on it, they’ll spot somebody they know and open up. Media may be strong, but art is stronger and can connect people even better. Art just has that power to move people deeply. It cannot be fully explained, but art just does that for the human heart and soul.

The AIDS quilt and the Vietnam wall aren’t the only memorials that are monuments. The Lincoln memorial reaches out to the youth about the sixteenth president of the United States. His great works have been honored because of it. Mount Rushmore has been dedicated to four of the country’s great presidents. The Oklahoma City memorial is in honor of the people who died in the bombing caused by Timothy Mcbay. All of the major wars have a memorial to all of the soldiers who died in the war.

A memorial is something special. It helps to remember the past for a brighter future. Not everything can have memorial to them. It was to be of an event or a person who changed the world. It has to make the younger generation listen and learn. Without memorials, the newer generations are doomed to repeat history’s greatest mistakes and forget the past.

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