A few weeks ago, my husband and I decided to take a last-minute trip to Washington, DC.
Let me begin with a confession: I'm thirty-nine years old, and I had never been to Washington, DC.
It's a funny story, really.
When I was in middle school, I was invited to join the "Gifted and Talented" class at my public school. I threw a fit. I didn't find it at all fair that the kids who scored higher on one standardized test were given access to learning opportunities and information that the other students were not. I refused to be in the class, and I continued to refuse every year of middle school. Instead, I took the "Enrichment Period" each day, and in it we read books and took part in "enriching" activities (none of which I can recall). As a result, I never learned the history of the American presidents (until a road trip in college when my now husband, horrified that I didn't know that Pierce was a president, taught me to name them in order), and I didn't get to go on the Washington DC field trip.
Despite the fact that I ended up with a few holes in my education, I maintain my stance. I still find it markedly unfair that some students are given access to a more thorough education and more educational opportunities than others. Who knows which student sitting in my enrichment class would have been inspired to public service on that trip? Who knows which student, by learning about the presidents, would have been inspired to take on a leadership role as an adult? This inequitable access to education disturbs me to this day because it hasn't gotten any better, and we haven't demanded the change.
And so, when my husband and I decided to go on a last minute (and belated 15th anniversary) trip, we decided it was time to fill this gap in my experience and travel to DC. (I would also add that I had been to the country of Liechtenstein but not to my nation's capital, which I find hilarious.)
I have to tell you, DC exceeded my expectations. On our first evening, we walked the monuments, which were grander and more profound than I could have imagined. In particular, the FDR monument, with its words upon words, spoke directly to me and to my beliefs and longings for our nation. The Korean War monument took me aback; I don't know why this one doesn't get more attention. The emotion I felt as we approached was only enhanced by the detail on the soldiers' faces as we got closer. The Vietnam memorial was also more moving than I had expected--perhaps that is because there was an older man in a worn, brimmed hat and a vest covered with buttons standing still, staring at a particular name. As I walked past, he reached out and felt the letters with his fingers. I had to walk away; it was too much. And the Lincoln Memorial--this is one I've longed to see since I was a child. Standing behind the engraved spot where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech as his voice echoed over the National Mall was a moment in my life that I will always hold dear. The power of words was everywhere, carved into every monument, a testament to the endurance of language.
We toured the Air and Space Museum, the American History Museum (where I saw the table on which Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, the ink pots used by Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation, and Thomas Jefferson's desk upon which his wrote the Declaration of Independence, to name just a few!), the Natural History Museum (dinosaurs!), The National Archives, and the Capitol. We even got to sit in as the House of Representatives was in session.
But the highlight for me, to no one's surprise, was the Library of Congress. I'm not sure that even now, a month later, I have the words for what I saw and felt inside that building. I stood with Thomas Jefferson's library. I gazed into the breathtaking reading room. I read every Jefferson quote emblazoned on the arches and walls. I want to move into that building and live there forever. Surely friends will sneak in food and water for me. It was truly a shrine to knowledge and to reading and to words...it was my perfect place.
I cannot wait to return to Washington DC. The trip renewed my faith in democracy and in the positive power of government. My husband chased a congresswoman across the Capitol grounds for a picture, and she cheerfully obliged. Our intern tour guide at the Capitol told us how his job had shown him the good that happens in Washington, the collaboration we never see. The words that speak forth from every building tell of equality and justice. I could not help but be inspired to use my words to make those ideals a reality. Inspiring words are everywhere, carved into stone never to be scraped away. Let's keep those words at the forefront of all we do, and let's demand that those who represent us do as well.
Having recently returned from Europe, I'll be honest...I was spending a lot of time daydreaming about how much better it would be to live in one of the beautiful countries I visited. I needed this trip to remind me of the power of the American spirit and the pain, but also the enduring determination, of the American journey. The words I saw in DC matter. Nay, they're essential. They have made us "America". Let's listen to them, honor them, and ensure they endure.
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