Roadside Memorials

The argument that is being presented in this article is that along it is important to mourn the death of someone killed in a car accident; memorials along public roads can sometimes have adverse effects. The author argues that by putting up religious memorials it, “use[s] public property to endorse religion”. And can also have an adverse effect, by becoming a traffic hazard for drivers observing the memorials on the road. The writer portrays his argument by using past examples of people that have been killed in car accidents, and memorials that have been put up in honor of them. He also describes some of the United States policies about memorials, and what actions do they take when they see a memorial along the highway. The author’s argument is clear and convincing. It was interesting for me to read this article, because I have never really thought about roadside memorials in this way before. I never really thought how a cross along the side of the road would affect other religions or distract other drivers. Yet after reading this article, I can see the negative sides to having a religious memorial along the side of a busy highway. Personally whenever I drive by a roadside memorial, I slow down to get a better look. However, when drivers stop paying attention to the road, the memorials can be hazardous and dangerous.

I liked how the authors were able to support his argument with facts, and was still able to appeal to the reader’s emotions. From this reading I also like how I was presented with three mini articles about the same topic. I was able to get three completely different perspectives on the same issue, and it allowed me to get background information before I read about present day policies.

I really like Jeff Burlew’s final sentence that said, “While I believe in the freedom of religious expression, I don’t think that [it] is fair to promote one religion over any other religion on public property”. I really like his final sentence, because I think that it clearly summarized the argument of his article.