Washington, DC
Spent several days vacationing in Washington, DC this past week. It was awesome, such a great city. There's so much learning you do while you are there, visiting all the various museums and seeing the monuments.
The National Art Museum / National Portrait Gallery building is amazing. The portraits arranged by date effectively told the story of America and all the changes it was going through. As you read about the the various peoples and the impact they had on American thought, you could immerse yourself in the history and understand the flow of thought and ideas and what was going on in the country at the time. The abolitionists of the mid-1800's earned my high praise. There were so many people who challenged - and sacrificed for - the advancement of equal opportunities for blacks through the eradication of slavery, tying the practice in with the immoral presence in the original Constitution in that it did not provide for an end to this practice. In other words, it called into question the whole moral basis of the country if it could not see and deal with the evil of slavery. A righteous argument and one we face today, because I still think we do not advance the causes of all people and that evil remains an ugly blemish on the state of our country.
I also enjoyed the Museum of the American Indian. This was a new museum only opened in the last two years, and it showed in its careful creativity, elegant design, and multimedia presentations. The various cultures you learned about in the museum were fascinating.
The ever-present and visible Washington Monument and Capitol Building seemed to put bookends around the trip experience. What brilliant symbols to the freedoms we have in the US. It seems that with everything the "creators" of DC sought to make statements. With much money and big intentions, those did not always translate into reality but the city is chock full of memorable buildings, monuments, memorials, museums, etc, etc. I had a new respect for our history an an appreciation of what it means to live in America.
One of the fascinating exhibits was the presidential exhibit in the Museum of American History. This brilliantly captured both the men themselves and their office as well as the public's view and response to them. The same is true of the first ladies, which were also featured one by one and over time. A brilliant summary of this history. I learned several things, including the impact and role taken on by Lady Byrd Johnson and Elanor Roosevelt's championing of the poor and needy. It showed both the real stress and importance of the position - the president exhibit is called "The Glorious Burden" - as well as the more absrub, have-to-look-at-this-with-a-smirk vanities of the office which so intrigues the American spirit because it reminds it of itself.
The National Art Museum / National Portrait Gallery building is amazing. The portraits arranged by date effectively told the story of America and all the changes it was going through. As you read about the the various peoples and the impact they had on American thought, you could immerse yourself in the history and understand the flow of thought and ideas and what was going on in the country at the time. The abolitionists of the mid-1800's earned my high praise. There were so many people who challenged - and sacrificed for - the advancement of equal opportunities for blacks through the eradication of slavery, tying the practice in with the immoral presence in the original Constitution in that it did not provide for an end to this practice. In other words, it called into question the whole moral basis of the country if it could not see and deal with the evil of slavery. A righteous argument and one we face today, because I still think we do not advance the causes of all people and that evil remains an ugly blemish on the state of our country.
I also enjoyed the Museum of the American Indian. This was a new museum only opened in the last two years, and it showed in its careful creativity, elegant design, and multimedia presentations. The various cultures you learned about in the museum were fascinating.
The ever-present and visible Washington Monument and Capitol Building seemed to put bookends around the trip experience. What brilliant symbols to the freedoms we have in the US. It seems that with everything the "creators" of DC sought to make statements. With much money and big intentions, those did not always translate into reality but the city is chock full of memorable buildings, monuments, memorials, museums, etc, etc. I had a new respect for our history an an appreciation of what it means to live in America.
One of the fascinating exhibits was the presidential exhibit in the Museum of American History. This brilliantly captured both the men themselves and their office as well as the public's view and response to them. The same is true of the first ladies, which were also featured one by one and over time. A brilliant summary of this history. I learned several things, including the impact and role taken on by Lady Byrd Johnson and Elanor Roosevelt's championing of the poor and needy. It showed both the real stress and importance of the position - the president exhibit is called "The Glorious Burden" - as well as the more absrub, have-to-look-at-this-with-a-smirk vanities of the office which so intrigues the American spirit because it reminds it of itself.
posted by David at 12:44 PM
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