Reflections on other sites

They are in a severe drought in the Midwest, but I have been quite surprised at how green everything is compared to Arizona.  Oklahoma seemed particularly lush, but they have had some rain recently.

In addition to the sites I have written about, we visited numerous other interesting places.  At first, I thought they were not important to my overall investigation, but now that I reflect, I am seeing a theme.  We saw the Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, a giant cross with surrounding statue park depicting the Stations of the Cross in Groom, TX, and the Precious Moments chapel near Carthage, MO.

What makes something sacred to us?

I started this trip hoping to learn how we preserve the of Willa Cather and Laura Ingalls Wilder.  The common theme, as I thought, was a view of the pioneer as emblematic of the good life of self-reliance and perseverance.  The other theme that arises is the way in which people turn people into something more than people.  We live in a literary culture, and the religions that shape Western Civilization are scriptural religions.  In the end, what we will preserve of these people is their writings.  Who knows what Homer's house looked like?  In the meantime, however, the people themselves become transcendent personages based largely on the fact that the words they wrote resonate with people.

In the Midwest, preservation of history is carried out with a great deal of fervor.  It sometimes seems that people have their heads in the past.  The towns here look old, and you get a feeling that they see their greatness as based on what happened in the past.  While it seems very important for people to interpret the past to make it consonant with their current political realities (as in Confederate-friendly Carthage emphasizing Union supporter Molly Hood and her "petticoat flag"), but there really is not the sense of future that we have in Arizona. 

Cadillac Ranch

 Precious Moments Chapel