Unlike traditional monuments, which mark the sites of the officially sacred (which in most countries means "war deaths"), abject monuments mark the sites of sacrifices not yet accepted as officially sacred; in particular, abject monuments mark the sites of degraded losses, such as auto deaths. How do we know auto deaths are degraded? Ulmer refers to a piece in The National Review criticizing the design of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall, claiming that the list of dead soldier's names dishonered their sacrifice for the nation: "THEY MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS."
An abject monument claims a degraded loss as a sacred expenditure made on behalf of the collective, for example, that auto deaths are necessary for the nation, at least as much as soldier's deaths, since those who died in auto accidents were exercising the right to drive their cars anytime, a right we are willing to die for.