What do monuments have to do with it?

What do Mount Rushmore , Crazy Horse Memorial and Carhenge, Nebraska have in common? They are all testaments to this amazing country we live in. Mount Rushmore is spectacular and honors our founding fathers, Washington and Jefferson, as well as Abraham Lincoln who preserved our union and Teddy Roosevelt who created our National Parks System. Crazy Horse is something else entirely. As Henry Standing Bear said when he hired Korzcak Ziolkowski as the sculptor: we want the world to know that the red man has heroes too. The monument has an incredible history that exemplifies not only the proud and determined indigenous peoples, but also the life of the Polish American sculptor. Korzcak married and had 10 children, and dedicated not only his life but all of theirs to this memorial. An assistant sculptor on Rushmore, he dedicated his entire life without salary to this project because of his profound dedication in support of the Native Americans. HIs family , to this day, continues to honor him and this project, which includes the Indian University and scholarships.

So what does Carhenge have to do with it? Well, let’s admit that cars are a core American value. Carhenge, in Alliance Nebraska, is the epitome of Americans’ obsession with cars: A replica of Stonehenge made from cars in the middle of nowhere.

What do they all have in common? Each one of these monuments taps into our history. We have a complicated history, as a nation dedicated to freedom that colonized and marginalized the native people, yet preserved the land through national parks and thumbed the UK with our own Stonehenge. Let’s face it. We are complicated.