THE NEW WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C. IS MEANT TO CELEBRATE THE POWER OF DEMOCRACY. SO WHY DOES IT RESEMBLE A MONUMENT TO A DEFEATED FASCIST?

摘要

The dedication this month of the National World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C., comes amid global debate over the utilization of U.S. power. The dedication ceremony will justly celebrate the generation that has most clearly proven how American might can be an epic force for good. Yet the memorial fails to capture the democratic spirit that was the war's saving glory. No, the cloying 7.4-acre ensemble has not totally spoiled the splendid axis between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, as was long feared ― the design was scaled down to prevent that. But the final result certainly mars the expansive vista along the Mall, which holds a key position in our national self-image.