CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VI (1) Contemporary-Eurasia-VI-1-engl | Page 61

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VI (1)
monument endures beyond its time, holds that idea before us, in our
time, and asks us to contemplate that idea-turn it over in our heads,
stand it next to our own experiences and ask if it still applies. Do
people and institutions act as they do out of allegiance to this idea?
And if they do, do I want people and institutions to keep on doing
those things? Do I want them to do those things out of allegiance to
this idea, knowing what that might entail? And if people and
institutions do not act in accord with this idea, would I wish them to?
In short: Do I want this idea, and all it might entail, to be an operative
force in our society?
Monuments confront us with that choice. They tell us that people
like ourselves once chose to affirm a certain set of ideals, but in that
telling, they remind us that we too must face the decision of which
ideals to affirm. Monuments thus set before us the task of reassessing
our values. And they do it by giving us both the means to criticize and
the reason for doing so. By asking us to contemplate imaginatively the
ideas they embody, monuments prod us to think through the
implications of our social ideals. Through the free contemplation
which they engender, we can know an idea more wholly-see more
clearly and feel more deeply both the dangers and the glories to which
it might lead. In that sensing of both danger and glory we have a surer
means, a firmer basis for judging.
History is an important part of human existence. History is what
created us all, it is how we progressed. Just like a photograph which
you preserve, maybe of your family, reminds you of the love for each
other. In the same way history and historical heritage tells about the
love for humanity. Love for how we progressed. How we are what we
are today.
Monuments are not only of historical value but also of economic as
well as social value. Egypt is famous for its pyramids. Tourism is
Egypt’s second largest source of revenue, bringing in $13 billion in
2010. (Pyramids at Giza - National Geographic) Taj Mahal in India,
one of the Seven Wonders of the World attracts around 3 million
visitors every year.
The other importance is that of culture. These monuments and
other artifacts tell us about what culture our ancestors followed. A
61