Give a speech that takes a clear stand about the vietnam veterans memorial. instead of just giving information about the memorial, your speech must present an argument about a controversy related to the memorial. is it a proper memorial for veterans? was the architect qualified to design the memorial? these are just two examples: you decide which controversy to explore.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a monument of 8000 square meters. It honors the members of the US Army who have died and are missing. Construction and manufacture was the cause of the controversy, which led to an additional construction. The memorial wall that was the cause of the controversy was designed by architect Maya Lin. The problem would be that the wall is black and without ornaments, then, it was lacking in resolving the national conflict over the war. It did not reflect the real circumstances that would speak about conflicting opinions about the war, as well as the minimalist design of the monument that diminishes the value of sacrifice of US soldiers. Some officials, among whom the most vocal were James Webb and H. Ross Perot, called it "the black wall of shame," "slapping in the face of those who served." At first they were supporters of Maya Lin's design, but later they became opponents seeing how the design looks. They also called it a "Nihilistic stone slab". Their claims were supported by the fact that Maya Lin is a young Asian student, and as such is not qualified to design such a monument.

This assignment was a shot in the dark for me tbh

I also attached the links I used at the bottom

The Vietnamese Veterans Memorial is a topic that contains a lot of controversy. The memorial was made to commemorate American soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. As a way to spice it up, the people in charge of creating the memorial decided to host a friendly competition to see who could come up with the best idea for what the memorial should look like. Maya Lin was eventually declared the winner due to her design, which is what caused the controversy for multiple reasons. Most people disagreed with the design while few liked it. The design was declared too simple, and according to some of the veterans it portrayed the war as “shameful, dishonorable and worth hiding” (Blakemore). This is because the design was too simple, had a bad colour scheme, and was made by someone who hadn’t even graduated college.  

Addressing the most used argument first, Maya Lin, the person who designed the monument was “far from professional” (Blakemore). Maya Lin was an “undergraduate at Yale University at the age of 21” (Britannica) when her design was chosen. Not only this, but she had to “create a design for her college class” (Blakemore) and that is the design she chose. According to Erin Blakemore at History.com, “her grade for the assignment was a B” meaning that the professor didn’t consider it 1st place worthy.  

My second argument as to why it is a bad monument is that the design is too simple. The layout for the monument is a tall black wall, that starts from in the ground, and is in the shape of a v from a Birdseye view.  On the plain walls of the monument are the names of all the soldiers who fought in the war, each name being “half an inch high” (Blakemore). The design was perceived by many as boring and didn’t fit the complexity of the war. Many argued that it should at least have a statue to show the heroisms of the soldiers in the war, and to honor their work. Even the surviving veterans were outraged, describing the monument as “making the war seem shameful, dishonorable and worth hiding” (Blakemore), which is a slap in the soldiers’ faces, especially considering the affects the war had on them.

My final point will be addressing the counterclaim that it has a good design in terms of the walls the names were written on. I will admit that the shiny black walls with the white writing does look good, however it could be better. The veterans claimed that the design made it look like the war was “worth hiding” (Blakemore) due to the lack of design and colours on the wall. Some people even “launched a campaign to change the walls to white” (Blakemore) to better represent success and glory. Many also imagined the walls to have a more complex design with pillars to stand out among the surrounding area.

Overall, the contest hosts should’ve picked the best work made by a professional architect, and listened to what the public – especially the veterans – thought the monument should look like. Instead, they chose Maya Lin’s project, despite its bleak persona that almost hides among its surroundings. On the other hand they could’ve combined projects to help the monument better stand out and portray the brutality of the war and the heroisms of the soldiers.

https://www.history.com/news/the-21-year-old-college-student-who-designed-the-vietnam-memorial#:~:text=Sep%2013%2C%202017-,This%2021%2DYear%2DOld%20College%20Student%20Designed%20the%20Vietnam%20Veterans,and%20sparked%20a%20national%20controversy.&text=It's%20the%20Vietnam%20Veterans%20Memorial,during%20their%20Vietnam%20War%20service.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maya-Lin  

uncanny would be like unlucky or disaster. you can look for more in the dictionary or if you have text book then turn to a. 17 but it's different with textbooks.