Dancers disrespect the Jefferson Memorial

Regarding the outrage over the dancing at the Jefferson Memorial and the dancers’ cries that our “freedoms” are being impinged upon, I ask, what are we “expressing” by dancing at the Jefferson Memorial?

Some claim that by dancing they are “expressing respect” — that Jefferson himself liked music and dancing. How does this follow when it is rude and distracting to the other tourists who have come to pay their respects? It is, in the words of Petula Dvorak [“When interpreting freedom, reason sometimes takes a back seat,” Metro, May 31] “professional protesting.” That is, people are doing it because the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against it. And the court ruled against it because it was rude and distracting, and because the memorial is not an appropriate place for dancing.

Loading...

Comments

• Weigh In
• Corrections?

Personal Post

You would not yell “fire” in a theater, and you would not dance in front of the screen to block it from others. Would you dance in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial while others were there to acknowledge their loved ones’ sacrifices? Would you dance on top of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?

No one objects to dancing — but there is a time and a place for everything under heaven. Freedom does not include the right to be disruptive. There is plenty of room to dance on the lawn outside the Jefferson Memorial.

Mary O’Donnell, Frederick