From all of this, it is very clear that historical cemeteries daily are becoming a less known facet in our society today. Many archaeologists, including Philip DiBlasi, argue that every day there are cemeteries that are being forgotten whether it is from modern construction or just not being taken care of in the community. Even more so, cemeteries are simply abandoned. Through discovering the forgotten cemetery in Tom Sawyer Park, I have personally witnessed cemeteries being forgotten and have become interested in the subject.
In this paper, I will argue that it is very important for individuals and communities to take care of and restore their cemeteries. Attention needs to be paid to them because cemeteries are a place of reverence and sacred value. Furthermore, another aspect that they provide is particular information on sickness and family dynamics through tombstones found in historic cemeteries. This aspect of a cemetery as a special place is an important issue because it is occurring all across the nation in many communities, especially our own cemeteries in Louisville. Consequently, action needs to be taken to preserve these important sites especially if you have witnessed the abandonment firsthand such as I have, or if your family has been affected because of ancestors who have been buried in these cemeteries. But is my proposal realistic? What are the chances of its actually being adopted? Nevertheless, both businessmen and government officials with plans to use the land that have cemeteries will probably suggest otherwise and argue that these forgotten cemeteries are simply that, so there is no need to protect them. This thinking, however, is naive.
Therefore, I will concentrate primarily on the conservation of specific cemeteries in our Louisville community such as the Central State Hospital Cemetery in Tom Sawyer Park and Eastern Cemetery. These specific cemeteries have been exposed to abandonment, misuse, vandalizing, and even mass burial. In other words, thousands of people have been buried in these sites, with many family members not even recognizing that this is occurring to their ancestors. Ultimately, if cemeteries continue to become forgotten and disappear, then we will lose much historical and genealogical information provided by the cemeteries. I suggest that action needs to be taken to preserve the cemeteries and rectify the misuse and abandonment.
EDITS: I revised the proposal to include naming a naysayer and introducing the objections informally. I attribute those who will maybe have objections to businessmen and government officials who would like to use the land for other means than that of a cemetery. I definitely need to add more information to back up my argument now, but I think that the introduction of a naysayer strengtheners my argument because it shows more people may have a stake in my argument,
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