Desecrated Cemetery

My wife and I recently returned from a week in New Orleans. We enjoyed the good food, the music, the architecture, and even the unusual cemeteries. Sadly, we had an incident recently in which a local cemetery here in Dutchess County suffered vandalism. The mother of a woman I know is buried in that cemetery, and she was quite upset that her mother’s gravestone was toppled.

There’s a cemetery near my church, and I see people walking their dogs in it all the time. It makes me wonder how those people would feel if someone else’s dog urinated on their mother’s gravestone or took a dump on their father’s grave. One of the reasons those people are walking their dogs in the neighboring cemetery is that we’ve banned dog walking on the church property. People from the neighborhood were walking their dogs and not picking up after them, showing absolutely no concern for a property that isn’t theirs.

What does this tell us? I think it says several things. First, that our society is becoming less caring and considerate of others. Second, we haven’t educated our children about being considerate of others and the sanctity of a cemetery (or even church property). Third, some kids have entirely too much time on their hands (assuming the vandalism was done by kids) and parents don’t seem to know or care where their kids are.

Parents, and especially pet owners, I ask you to train your kids to respect the property of others, and be a good example to them by picking up after your dog. In addition, educate him to not vandalize and know where your child is.