August 1, 2007
The Politics of Remembrance
Visiting Berlin for the first time (in order to attend the Law and Society Conference), Andrew Koppelman found himself deeply impressed with how everywhere he went, there were "markers in several languages that unflinchingly describe who the Nazis were and what they did."
"There is no effort to whitewash the past," Koppelman writes at the legal affairs group blog, Balkinization. "There is an obvious determination to remember and reflect."
Koppelman, a professor of law at Northwestern University, argues that this stands in sharp contrast to the American method of commemoration. "You could spend a lot of time on the Mall in Washington, D.C., without being made to think about slavery, the genocide of the Indians, and the path of Western conquest." Koppelman suggests that such an evasive approach to American wrongdoing helps feed the "grandiose delusions that are ubiquitous in American politics."
Apparently Koppelman has struck a chord, as his post has triggered a sprawling comment thread.
Evan Goldstein | Posted on Wednesday August 1, 2007 | Permalink
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