80 degrees may not seem overly hot, certainly not to a kid from the desert like me, but I'm not from the desert anymore, and living in Alaska has apparently turned me into a big wuss when it comes to dealing with the heat. Though as bad as the hot weather got to me, it got to Ursa much worse.
As we walked around the National Mall in Washington D.C. we found ourselves on the edge of heat stroke before we got to the Jefferson Memorial, and ready to go Bear Grylls for some food before we got to the Lincoln Memorial, and no source of sustenance to be found. Should you ever find yourself in Washington D.C. might I recommend a backpack with the necessities, like water and a sandwich.
The National Mall is huge, we walked for six and a half miles but by stopping at all the monuments and attractions it took us around six hours and that does not include visiting any museums, of which there are many. Ten museums of the Smithsonian Institute are there waiting to be explored, but just visiting the monuments will take a full afternoon.
The subway deposited us near the Air and Space Museum, but we decided that it would be our last stop before we returned to our hotel. We walked past and marveled at the array of museums before we finally came to the Washington Monument. Like most people, I am very familiar with what the Washington Monument looks like, but what I was impressed by is the omnipresence of the monument as you make your way around the National Mall. It is seemingly everywhere, always somewhere within your view.
The next stop on our walk was the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. One of the great American statesmen and one of the founding fathers of the country; writer of the Declaration of Independence, Secretary of State under George Washington, Vice President under John Adams and the Third President of the United States. One of the quotes that adorned his memorial seemed especially poignant, "I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must also keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain even under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."
The next memorial was the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which, to be quite honest, was one of the two monuments that moved me to tears. This was the man who led us through not only one of the great calamities of the country's history (The Great Depression) but also guided us through the Second World War. I couldn't help but tear up when I read his quote: "I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded... I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed... I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war."
One of the monuments that I was most looking forward to seeing was the newest, the Martin Luther King Memorial. The quote on the side of the sculpture reads, "Out of a mountain of despair; a stone of hope". What a profound statement of one of the great humanitarians not only of our country, but of the world. A man who sought to change the face of the nation through peace; a man who succeeded in the face of impossible odds. A man who believed that "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Probably the most iconic of all the monuments along the National Mall is the Lincoln Memorial. The stoic visage of Abraham Lincoln gazing out at the nation that he helped to hold together is a moving reminder of one of the greatest of American Presidents.
Next to the Lincoln Memorial is the Vietnam Memorial. The simple black wall engraved with the names of fallen soldiers is a stark display of the true cost of war, the human cost of war. The power of this monument is in it's simplicity; no images, no sculptures just the sheer weight of row after row of names. This is the other memorial that moved me to tears, and I don't know of many people that it wouldn't.
Finally, what trip to Washington would be complete without a visit to the nations front lawn at the White House. As I looked at the White House I could only think of the great honor, and the great responsibility that goes along with the Presidency of the United States of America. And what a marvelous system of governance that we have that allows all of us, regardless of what our political beliefs may be, to speak our mind in regards to who occupies this house, and the importance of the civic duty that we all owe in speaking our minds at the voting booth. November will soon be upon us my friends, remember to vote.
No comments:
Post a Comment