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October 04, 2002
Life In Our Nation's Capital
Every night, when I go up to the balcony on the 11th floor of my building for a study break and some fresh air, I look to the south (and slightly east) and check to make sure the Capitol is still there. It started as an offhand remark from a friend, but now we do it regularly. It's not that we have doubt about it's presence or are concerned about it's future. But it is reassuring to look over and see it, less than a mile from where we are.
I'm not usually a flag-waiver and there are plenty of things about the current administration that concern me. In spite of those concerns, though, being in Washington is awe-inspiring. When I drive home from the grocery store, I can see the Washington Monument looming ahead of me, the Jefferson Memorial off to my left as I cross the Potomac. I've driven by the Pentagon numerous times. When I step back and think about it, it's quite overwhelming.
Prior to moving down here, I think I had been to Washington five times. Twice as a tourist, with my family, and three times to visit friends who lived here and to visit law schools. When we came here the summer after eighth grade, Jason and I had both just completed American History classes. We spent a week in the city, then traveled around the mid-Atlantic visiting Revolutionary War and Civil War sites with our parents. While that trip was the "history-comes-alive" sort of experience, seeing the places I had just learned about in school, it was a diffferent kind of star-struck than I am feeling now.
I am blocks away from the Supreme Court, where I am going to go hear arguments next week. Every street I walk down, I see the Department of SomethingOrAnother building. It is odd to be around all of this in everyday life. People just going about their daily business, which just happens to be running the country.
Posted by buddha at October 4, 2002 03:32 PM
Comments
It's funny. I'm in the capital of another country and the only thing that I see every day is the local 7-11. If I'm really lucky, I see the girl with the dachhund and the terrier walking her dog and get a beautiful smile. But the major governmental landmarks in Tokyo are few and far between (I can only think of the parliament building and the metropolitan government building), neither of which seem to be icons the way any of Washington's monuments are.
Maybe it's because Washington is my capital, but your description fills me with more awe than government structure in Tokyo.
Posted by: Jason at October 4, 2002 04:20 PM
Well, the awe almost certainly has something to do with growing up here and learning about this stuff all our lives. I mean, what you see on the news, I see on the street every day. government, lobby groups, military, etc.
also, I think Tokyo might be different. Given the history there in this century, a lot of it is fairly new, so the buildings themselves aren't associated with power and history in the same way they are here. At least, that's my impression.
Posted by: dan at October 4, 2002 04:28 PM