In a recent visit to DC I went to many of the monuments and memorials and noticed that more than half of the people visiting were sitting on the monument/memorial touching, or rubbing it. All of these things can destroy a monument or memorial. Do people not realize that memorials and monuments - no matter how close to the ground - are art works dedicated to a person, group of people, or place in time? That is why I have prepared this primer on how to behave when visiting memorials and monuments - in Washington D.C. or in your own town.