I saw this comic on monuments at the Nib today, and for whatever reason, it reminded me that as a parent, you learn that it's important to praise children for specifics, rather than generalities. I'm beginning to feel like this advice is applicable to monuments. Perhaps they should commemorate something specific a person has done and placed in a location linked to that action, rather than a person in general.
For example, the statue of Tesla in Niagara Falls makes perfect sense because Tesla was instrumental in building the world's first hydroelectric power plant there.
At the other end of the spectrum, Robert E. Lee never set foot in Louisiana, and so the monument to him in New Orleans is pure cult of personality.
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