Rachel Choi blog 7

One of the attacks against Maya Lin’s design revolved around the fact that she was Asian.  You would think that in a nation defined as a melting pot, it would be taboo to foster racist beliefs.  Racism proves to be a barrier that will exist until the day we cease to see from our eyes and instead from our hearts.  We are reminded that this is a free country where we are allowed the freedom of speech.  But, often this freedom that is supposed to empower, offends, and hurts countless amounts of people.  It is when the freedom of speech is taken advantage of that one forgets basic manners and let’s their thought cloud rational behavior. 

I loved that we watched this documentary on Maya Lin’s struggle as she overcame unjust barriers to share this beautiful monument dedicated to the Vietnam Veterans memorial.  It showed through Maya’s demeanor that she honestly wanted this memorial for the glory of the veterans and not for public recognition.  I believe that as there grew a movement against this memorial; they let their greed for grandeur cloud over the original purpose of the memorial.  The memorial was for the fallen and its simplistic appeal was the idea of an Asian American. 

I was born in Virginia and I am a proud Korean and American.  I love the fact that I can experience both cultures in one lifetime.  Through traveling back and forth and spending the majority of my life in America I developed my own form of American nationalism.  Whenever I talk to my friends, I always defend my country and it’s position.  Anderson brings the attention back to education and it’s effects on American nationalism.   I was provided an education as a natural born citizen in the U.S.  With this education I have come this far and my possibilities are endless.  This does not however, cover the fact that I will continue to face racism in the future.  I just hope that I will be able to witness a diminishing rate of ignorance of diversity and contribute in my own way to improving the world we live in for the future generations to come. 

One thing I noticed while watching the film is that the material the memorial was made out of provided a reflection, dark, yet clear for all who looked at the names.  This moment of reflection somehow combines the past and present as the veteran’s names is presented to you in conjunction with a reflection of your face.   As we go through our days I hope that our present may reflect on the past to see the consequences of our actions so that we may make the right choices for our future.