Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal Commentary Blogs -> Althouse

Legal Commentary

: Althouse

What is the difference between a war memorial and a war protest?

Today is Veterans Day, a time to honor all military veterans. It is not, I think, a day to protest war.

Yesterday, I was driving along the Speedway, the road between 2 cemeteries here in Madison. (Here's a picture I took of the area, last December in snow and fog.) Along one side of the road, there was a display of fake tombstones, each about 2 feet tall, lined up in rows of 3 or 4, with signs at intervals saying either "Iraq" or "Afghanistan" and a year from the period of the wars. The tombstones between the signs represented the number who had died in the war in that country, in that year. It takes quite a few seconds to drive past the thousands of markers.

Is this a memorial or is it a war protest? And if it is a war protest, is it offensive -- either because it is next to the cemetery (I'm sure permission was given for the large display), because it appropriates the deaths of men and women (who did not consent to be used in a war protest and may very well have believed in the cause they fought for), or because it has been put up for Veterans Day (an occasion for honoring veterans, not expressing the opinion that the cause they fought for was unworthy)?

Full post as published by Althouse on November 11, 2008 (boomark / email).