Chirps and Chatter

Blog City Prompt July 2, 2024

Prompt: The Statue of Liberty
"My father described this tall lady who stands in the middle of the New York harbor, holding high a torch to welcome people seeking freedom in America. I instantly fell in love." ~Yakov Smirnoff
What do you think of statues in general and the Statue of Liberty in particular?

I was born in New York City and raised in New Jersey. Everyone I knew or came in contact with had seen Lady Liberty in the New York Harbor. I have been on Ellis Island, where the statue stands, a half a dozen times or more. I went for the first time in grade school on a class trip. The last time I went at the invitation of a close friend who was given an award for service to our company. The company has a major presence in the Big Apple, thus, had access to their event location to hold an awards ceremony. It was moving to be seated outside close to the statue. It touches your patriotic heart strings.

Those of us growing up in the Northeast are accustomed to statues. The ones at Gettysburg are significant to remember the bloodiest battle* ever fought by the United States. It lasted from July 1st through the 3rd, 1863. My mother's family is from Gouldsboro which is two and a half hours' drive from the battlefield. People who have visited will often say, 'I walked the battlefields of Gettysburg.' Each time I visited, there was a mysterious light barely detectable cross breeze. It was like the exhalation of every fallen soldier was behind the moving air.

The upset over statues commemorating the confederate states and memorable people on the losing side is ludicrous. Those who choose not to remember are probably going to repeat the mistakes. Leave the statues alone.

* Total soldiers 167,6220
Dead: 7058 Wounded: 33,264 Missing or Captured: 10,790 (source: statista.com)