I have been WAY to busy to write down even a little of what has happened this summer. But I have to just stop and write before this summer passes me by. We have done so many things already (including Blueberry picking, visiting NY, bowling etc.) but I will start at the beginning and will write more later about the rest (soon).
First, I should mention Washington, the place I go almost every week for work. Lots of folks (especially from work) could not believe this was the venue that Pieter and I would decide to visit for a 2 day get-away. However, much to my surprise, we discovered some of America's amazing treasures. (That sounds so cliche doesn't it?) I was suprised to realize that this country was formed by individuals who retained absolutely groundbreaking ideals and were led by principles of justice, freedom and equity trying to form this nation into its own story, broken from the past of the British Empire.
The prologue was on display at our first stop: The Library of Congress. (for more info on this place, go to the link above)
From seeing the actual books from Thomas Jefferson's library (which I should mention was really a treat as the collection mapped closely to Pieter's own collection) , to the redlined drafts of the Declaration of Independence, I was blown away from what I heard and saw. Although I expected that the multi-media presentation (from gliding screens of text, to movie and visual presentations; and tours etc.) would be helpful, I had no idea how objectively presented the history was displayed.
Right next to the drafts of the Declaration of Independence, and letters displayed in cases (among our founders) that a 2 party system was simply a horrible idea due to the division etc., there were short movie clips depicting various aspects of our history. Yet instead of patriotic symbolic movies, it actually contained realistic portrayals of times in our country when the principles of our nation were in conflict with its actions. Women's rights, treatment of blacks, the civil rights movement, treatment of the Japanese during World War 2, McCarthyism, times when our nation was frankly not proud and tall but had much to learn. It was refreshing to see such unbiased chapters of our story open and on display for the world to see.
The awe of the building, the architecture, the stories given by the tour guides were memorable and uncanny. In order to carve the staircase into little angels (16 or so) illustrating various types labor in the US at the time, the carver actually carved the marble right there out of a huge slab right in the Library of Congress, I forgot how many years it took, but it was stunning, and the carvings were amazing.
All of this was captured in this National Library of Congress, a place that our Government can access and read about any area of knowledge they wish (13 stories of books by the way!!)
We also saw the Holocaust Memorial and the Native American Museum, both affecting us very deeply and touched our hearts based on the history which we knew, but often don't remember on a daily basis. I was very glad to see both places, and frankly it made me pensive about much of where the world is heading, due to the similarity of the extremism that we witnessed as a world only half a century ago, could repeat itself again and again unless we engage in a different more enlightened path. The images I saw, and the facts that I learned are hard to recount on a blog, and does not really give the history its attention that it deserves. I will say however, that it seems we are running out of rope to repeat history too many more times.
It reminds me of what I felt at the Library of Congress, seeing how fresh idealism and perseverance helped form this country, and how tenacity set new ground for a nation built on principles unlike many around the world. It was not easy, and certainly could not have been certain. I wonder if they were here today, and were trying to figure out the issues around the world, where they would go; how they would think. Perhaps the good of the world, rather than nation? Imagine that.
"Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom."
Thomas Jefferson
"My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth."
George Washington
"We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable, that all men are created equal and independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Thomas Jefferson
