Arlington National Cemetery…Before And After Trump

This isn’t about Donald Trump’s latest blunder when he spoke there, though it did inspire me to come to its defense.

   To be honest, I’m pretty tired of all that pertains to him, like going to the circus seeing the same sideshow one too many times.

   Have you ever had the privilege of going to Arlington? It’s a rite of passage for all Americans along with anyone who may admire us. 

  Most people go to pay tribute to John F. Kennedy watched over by the eternal flame his widow lit so many sunsets ago.

Then they might wander to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to watch the Changing of the Guard.

  William Howard Taft is also buried there, the only other U.S. President besides JFK.

 Most visitors don’t even know Arlington became a Military Cemetery during the American Civil War.

 That it was once the family home of the southern Leader of the Confederate Army Robert E. Lee, who lost it when he chose to take up arms against the union. 

  His actual house is now the Visitor’s Center where you can ask a question or pick up a map. 

His wife, Mary Anna Curtis Lee, who was a staunch supporter of the southern cause, was still living there when the Civil War broke out on April 12, 1861.

    Lincoln gave strict orders to leave the lady be, despite her irreverent behavior, who finally left on her own given safe passage.

   Yes, the north because of old Abe, behaved well even when they didn’t want to. Most people don’t know that the first Union dead were buried in Mrs. Lee’s rose garden, their gravestones still seen in all their simple, proud glory.

   It’s poignant that though some are slipping into the earth, were never replaced, the reverence felt as you read the names.

  Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs, a name that should be better known since as a civil engineer, he also helped build the U.S. Capitol, had just lost his 22 year-old son John, in battle. 

   His grief mixed with anger some say was the reason he interred men and boys alike who may have been the same age.

  He himself would be buried not far from John at Arlington, in 1892. 

 From there it spiraled into the holiest ground there is in our Nation’s Capitol.

 Imagine a cathedral without walls and the sky as its ceiling.

 One last word on Mr. Trump.

 Perhaps it would be prudent if someone explained this to our 45th President looking to be number 47, for the next time, since it’s never too late for a rite of passage.

 SB