Part 2: The Capitol

~Day 5~
This was the busiest day of the trip. It was also the most emotional/meaningful for me. I loved all the historical stuff, but Washington is what's happening NOW. We first took a tour of Arlington Cemetery, including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (in time for the changing of the guard even!), and John F. Kennedy's grave and the eternal flame. It was quite sobering to see those rows and rows of white gravestones. We then rode to the Mall area to see the Lincoln memorial, the Washington monument, the Korean War memorial, the Vietnam memorial (the wall and both statues), the White House and Capitol buildings (both with their own protesters), and the Federal Reserve building. We even got stopped in traffic for a motorcade, although our guide wasn't sure if it was the President or the Vice President who was within.

I had a hard time with the war memorials. It was so disturbing to me to see people standing in front of those statues, smiling and hamming it up for their vacation photos. There were very few who looked as though they were thinking about the reason they were there. I was holding it together until I read some of the letters at the Vietnam memorial. I know the rest of my group thought I was a little crazy as tears streamed down my face, but I couldn't stand thinking of all the people and lives connected to the names on that wall. The statues flanking that memorial are some of the best I have seen. Instead of showing the soldiers as invincible and warrior-like they show the reality of war. The first shows three soldiers (white, black, and hispanic) supporting one another. Their sleeves are rolled up and they look tired. The second is a monument to the women of the war. It shows several nurses holding a wounded soldier. The sorrow and pain show on their faces. It was a very emotional visit for me.

I was also strongly touched by the Lincoln memorial. I loved walking up those steps, feeling the burn in my legs and thinking about how it represented the struggle for freedom for so many groups in our country. Fighting for justice will always be an uphill battle, but it is one I can face with joy, knowing that so many have fought before me and so many will fight after me. It was something else to stand in front of that giant statue of Lincoln and think of how far we have come since the birth of our nation. And how far we have left to go.

My dark mood was somewhat eleviated by visiting the White House and the Capitol building. It at least gave some purpose (however questionable) to the deaths we had been memorializing. While I am not a fan of our current president or many of the decisions being made in our Senate these days, I am a HUGE fan of what our country stands for. We have a government built on the ideals of liberty, justice, and basic human rights. We have a government that is required to not only put up with, but also listen to those who disagree. There is a man and woman team that has been living in front of the White House for the last 26 years. For 26 years, they have been there, with their signs and pamphlets, fighting their own government. And they have the freedom to do just that.

We got to see the woman while we were there. Our kids were stunned (most of them having been shielded from anything like it) but they were interested. We discussed freedom of speech and the rights/responsibilities of US citizens. I was quite disturbed by the choice of a teacher from another group. He was there with a group of high school students who were equally enthralled by the sight of this dirty, shouting woman and her signs. She had focused on this group of students, accusing them of being the children of fascists and blaming them for the ills of this world. Instead of explaining to the students that she had the right to say these things and that she was a little bit disturbed, the teacher went up to her and demanded that she stop speaking to his students. The irony of it was quite...um...ironic?

When we had finished racing around the mall, we headed over to Union Station for lunch. Shortly after that, we were dropped off at the airport for a lengthy check-in process and our return home.

I'm tired of writing now. I will add pictures and make any editing changes another time. Now, I must finish watching an Evening with Kevin Smith (Evening Harder). Catch you later!