Perhaps it is because Passover approaches and I have been thinking about the need for remembering and cleansing, but as I read Prof. Paula Levine's article "Seeing the Past in Present Tense", I thought about the importance of rituals and remembrances. When the children of Israel left Egypt after four centuries, much of it in slavery, they were commanded to keep a yearly remembrance of the Passover. To this day, the youngest child at the table is asked what this day means - its significance. And even in the 21st century, in many households the old leaven is cast out. And, in many others, spring cleaning has begun. Only by rituals, by commemorations, by celebrations, by anniversaries is the past remembered and perpetuated from one generation to the next.
Which one of us was present when the Declaration of Independence was signed? Were any or our parents or grandparents or great-great-great grandparents there? And yet, here we are, two hundred thirty-odd years later, still celebrating the birth of a nation that promised a new form of government. We visit our nation's capital and see the monuments that point to our past. These are visible structures that serve to remind us about those that came before us. Yet, despite these visible landmarks, we forget.
Is it any wonder then, that a hidden monument would be forgotten so quickly? Without ritual and remembrance even the most poignant monument will cease to be remembered.
Its purpose will be erased by time when those who built it no longer live. I thought it sad that this great, tall Monument Against Fascism, War and Violence and for Peace and Human Rights has been forgotten. But, if it remains hidden, if it is not commemorated in one way or another, it will remain unremembered. So, too, shall die the stories about the Old Mill Road, when the mill is no longer at the end of the road.
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