the looming shadow of george washington

This summer I embarked on a two week study abroad program where I traveled to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. This program was through the Hussman School of Journalism and Media and while in China we met with various advertising, public relations and journalism businesses. This is a journal entry from my last day in Beijing.

5/16/2019 - Today my journaling is coming to you from a second row aisle seat on the bullet train to Shanghai. Flashes of Beijing landscape sets the mood as I reflect on my time in Beijing and think about the future adventures waiting in Shanghai. If you combined D.C. with any major U.S. city, you would get Beijing. It is a smoggy hub for political exchange and never ending history lessons.

The architecture and attention to detail is positively intriguing. We spent the morning touring Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City. Being able to walk through The Forbidden City and understand the massive size of the area helped to translate history into the modern world. In Tiananmen Square, the historical memorials are arranged in a way that encourages visitors to gawk and appreciate the statues and symbolic memorabilia, giving me huge D.C. vibes.

This design led me to think about the way we immortalize political figures and how that transcends throughout all cultures. The act of recreating a human in permanent form (a statue, portrait, etc.) establishes a godlike aura and a sense of immortality. It seems that the most influential individuals in a society’s establishment, which are typically men, become the center of praise in that specific area.

This leaves very little to no space for modern trailblazers to receive similar praise. This also leads to biased views of those being praised, as if they have lived sinless lives, disregarding any harmful or negative behavior that could likely have occurred in their rise to power. This may result in a population who feels any success they have will be inadequate and unappreciated because all of the good things that can be done in a society have already been done by those who are immortalized heroes.

I would be very interested in finding out the level of impact this has on the average citizen. Is American daily life and motivation impacted by the looming shadow of George Washington? I understand that without the recognition of societal creators, there would be a loss of identity within a society. But, does the way we choose to recognize these creators cause an issue? If we choose to celebrate people in different ways, will it impact the way people view themselves? I don’t have the answers to these questions, but it has definitely given me something to think about.

xoxo,

lexy