{"id":182,"date":"2018-08-02T11:00:38","date_gmt":"2018-08-02T11:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/?p=182"},"modified":"2021-10-15T16:25:49","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T21:25:49","slug":"debate-is-it-okay-to-visit-cemeteries-on-vacation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/debate-is-it-okay-to-visit-cemeteries-on-vacation\/","title":{"rendered":"Debate: Is it Okay to Visit Cemeteries on Vacation?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"Normal1\"><span lang=\"EN\">When I say \u201cvacation,\u201d you say \u201cbeach!\u201d When I say \u201choliday,\u201d you say \u201cparty!\u201d Maybe you wouldn\u2019t consider spending your vacation or trip by visiting crypts (sites of burial), but that\u2019s exactly how many people spend their trips.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-182 gallery-columns-1 gallery-size-full'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"784\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/08\/IMG_1143.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Emma Cavanaugh on a travel study to London.\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-184\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/08\/IMG_1143.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/08\/IMG_1143-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/08\/IMG_1143-768x418.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/08\/IMG_1143-1024x558.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/08\/IMG_1143-1080x588.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-184'>\n\t\t\t\tWSU&#8217;s English Department travel study stands outside of St. Paul&#8217;s Cathedral in London, shortly before touring the building. Picture taken by Liberty Kohn, faculty.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"Normal1\"><span lang=\"EN\">It\u2019s day five on my travel study to London, and I\u2019ve already seen the tombs of Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking, Elizabeth I, William Blake, Isaac Newton, Charles Dickens, and many, many kings named George. We\u2019ve visited at least two crypts, one at St. Paul\u2019s Cathedral, and one at Westminster Abbey. Both of these beautiful churches are filled with hundreds of graves. In Westminster, you can barely take a step without passing over the tombs of old war heroes, early scientists, various royals, and wealthy patrons. Yet everywhere we go, the churches and crypts are full of visiting tourists. You have to wonder, why are people so obsessed with seeing graves?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Normal1\"><b><span lang=\"EN\">Conflicted Feelings<\/span><\/b><b><span lang=\"EN\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"Normal1\"><span lang=\"EN\">I remember walking into Westminster Abbey and being totally overcome with the beauty. It\u2019s a huge, gothic building which has served as a burial place for most of England&#8217;s kings and queens for 1,000 years. My second reaction was different: I thought, <i>holy cow, this is just a giant, indoor cemetery. Cheery.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-182 gallery-columns-1 gallery-size-full'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/08\/IMG_1195-e1533223210250.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Emma Cavanaugh on a travel study to London.\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-186\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-186'>\n\t\t\t\tThe front of Westminster Abbey. The church has been used as the burial site of English royalty for over almost 1000 years. Picture by me. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"Normal1\"><span lang=\"EN\">However, I started to feel differently after stumbling across the tomb of Charles Darwin. No really, I actually tripped across it as I did a double take. This was really him? The man who revolutionized science as we know it today? I felt a warmth spreading across my body. I was feet away from one of my heroes. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Normal1\"><span lang=\"EN\">Then I began to feel conflicted. After all, is it right for me to feel excited and happy to see this man who has been gone for over a hundred years? Why do I feel so excited? My first guess is that coming into contact with the rich and famous makes people feel special. Seeing the grave of Queen Elizabeth I, one of the most powerful female rulers in western history, can make you feel like you\u2019ve seen something that matters; it can make you feel like maybe you matter.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-3' class='gallery galleryid-182 gallery-columns-1 gallery-size-full'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"609\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/08\/IMG_1201-e1533223062579.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Emma Cavanaugh on a travel study to London.\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-3-185\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-3-185'>\n\t\t\t\tSitting inside of Westminster Abbey, enjoying the view into the courtyard. Picture taken by Lauren Saner &#8217;19\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"Normal1\"><b><span lang=\"EN\">Poet\u2019s Corner<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"Normal1\"><span lang=\"EN\">The answer finally came when I least expected it. As I wandered around Westminster Abbey, I suddenly came across an area labeled \u201cPoet\u2019s Corner.\u201d I began to see names; T.S. Eliot, Dylan Thomas, C.S. Lewis. People whose writing I\u2019ve read before. People who I LOVE to read. Without realizing it, my eyes began to water. I was looking at my friends. These were the writers who had influenced literature as I know it today. Charles Dickens, Geoffrey Chaucer. These were the writers who gave me everything I have today as a writer. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Normal1\"><span lang=\"EN\">\u201cThank you,\u201d I whispered. \u201cThank you, thank you, thank you.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Normal1\"><b><span lang=\"EN\">Why do we like to visit the tombs of famous people?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"Normal1\"><span lang=\"EN\">The reason we like to see graves is that it reminds us of our place in the world. The beautiful tombs and monuments remind us of where we have come from and where we will go. Because of the writers in Poet\u2019s Corner, I have found a love of literature and writing.<\/span><span lang=\"EN\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Normal1\"><span lang=\"EN\">It\u2019s tempting to think of these heroes as supernatural beings. It\u2019s so, so tempting to believe that they are somehow better than we are. But standing at their tomb, I am reminded that all of these famous people were only human. They are memorialized because of the good they did in the world, but they were only human, as human as you and I. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Normal1\"><span lang=\"EN\">We can also do the same good in the world. We can accomplish just as much they did. Sometimes, we just need a nudge. And that\u2019s why it\u2019s okay to visit cemetaries on vacation.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When I say \u201cvacation,\u201d you say \u201cbeach!\u201d When I say \u201choliday,\u201d you say \u201cparty!\u201d Maybe you wouldn\u2019t consider spending your vacation or trip by visiting crypts (sites of burial), but that\u2019s exactly how many people spend their trips. It\u2019s day five on my travel study to London, and I\u2019ve already seen the tombs of Charles [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[24,80,162],"tags":[77],"class_list":["post-182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","category-english","category-travel","tag-london"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/08\/IMG_1143.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb2ffS-2W","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2806,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182\/revisions\/2806"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}