Monumentalism

Cassis is a small town on the French Mediterranean coast that has been to sometimes a greater and sometimes a lesser degree a fishing village since 500 BC, or perhaps earlier. Nearly 500 miles to the north stands the Arc de Triomphe, commissioned by Napoleon to honor his Grande Armee, the nearly invincible force that conquered most of Europe.

Begun in 1806 and completed in 1836, the 164’ arch provided a focal point for victorious armies marching through Paris—including the Germans in 1871 and 1940. Napoleon’s military campaigns led to an estimated 2.5 million military deaths and perhaps more than a million civilians killed.

But back to Cassis. The town, or more significantly the inhabitants, went about their lives for more than 2300 years before Napoleon came to power. Fishing, developing vineyards, trading. Did his reign as emperor rouse the townsfolk to a patriotic frenzy? Were men, young and old, eager to be part of his mighty military machine?

No doubt some, but surely some continued with the daily tasks at hand, mending nets, harvesting grapes, living life as mapped out in homes, the hills, and the sea. No fervor for grand designs to conquer the world, to crush foreign nations—especially the British. No particular reward or suffering came their way for Napoleon’s victories or the ultimate defeat at Waterloo.

In 1982, the second largest triumphal arch in the world at 197’ was built in Pyongyang, capital of North Korea, to commemorate Korean resistance against the Japanese from 1925-1945. In particular, the monument recognized President Kim-Il-sung’s role in liberating what is now North Korea from Japanese rule and his 70^th birthday. According to international sources, he is thought to be accountable for one to two million civilian deaths during his reign.

Nearly 100 miles south of the capital sits Songang-ni, and by zooming in via Google map, fishing boats can be seen tethered together on the tidal flats nearby. Information specific to the town is difficult to come by, but historical evidence suggests the peninsula has been occupied since 300 BC. Most likely—and I am speculating—locals have been fishing this coastline for more than 2200 years.

What, I wonder, what is in the hearts and minds of the fisherman who take those boats out into the Yellow Sea these days?