Silver Spring, Maryland is an insignificant suburb of the Washington, DC metropolitan area. It is so insignificant that there isn't even an old, Civil War time fort in my back yard. Washington, DC, on the other hand is where history is being made, "fresh from organically grown produce," every single day of the year.
If you listen to some of the press folks here, you'd think that this is the center of the universe. However, they are a little modest and call it the capital of the free world. The truth of the matter is that decisions effecting the course of this whole planet are being made right here in Washington, DC by people who wouldn't have passed even the kindergarten level if there were 12 years in driving school.
It is with pride, inspiration and a hint of faith that I take my out-of-town visitors to the city to look at the monuments and to do the "touristy" thing. Pride, in knowing how the events in the past have shaped the system of this country, inspiration, in knowing that we can learn from the great Presidents and leaders of the past and a little bit of faith in that at least half of us were right more than half the time when we "supposedly" did everything the democratic way.
Most people would think that the Washington monument is the center of the town. That wasn't the plan. According to the plan, the Capitol building where the House of Senate and the House of Representatives of the US congress meet was supposed to be the center. Historically, they wanted the city to be built on the east side of the Capitol Building and that's the reason why the Statue of Freedom atop the building is looking away from the rest of today's city. (Maybe it is really hoping that someone would bring the "freedom" to this city full of wheelers and dealers.) The capitol building is a working historical artifact. Paintings and sculpture in the chambers are testimonial to the quest to preserve the past for the benefit of the future generations. Not only that, if you visit the building on a working day, you may get a glimpse of the present day history being made by the representatives of the highly paid lobbyists.
The Washington Monument, the tallest completely masonry architecture in the US (boy, am I glad that there are no earthquakes in DC area to crumble this thing to ground) is the Cleopatra Needle created in honor of the first President of the US, George Washington. The bottom third of the monument saw this country engulfed in the greatest internal conflict to this day, the Civil War in the 1860s, while waiting to be completed after the conflict was over. While Washington's name is very much intertwined with this city, he never got to stay at the White House. But George Washington's private mansion and his farmland (now historic landmarks) are only a few minutes drive, even on a horse driven carriages, away from this "center of the universe."
A monument giving tribute to Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the "Declaration of Independence" and the US Constitution, is directly to the south of the Washington monument. One of the most eloquent writers of his time, he made quite clear to the British empire that this one group of people would not put up with undue restraints of a far away king. From his other writings it is quite clear that he was a deeply religious person with his own convictions based on Christianity and God. However, it is very significant and interesting to note that he did not bring the faith into the Constitution and in fact, kept the church and the state quite separate. "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal." A statement that would be used again and again by other great leaders such as Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King in this same city, originated from Thomas Jefferson's mind in an era when slavery was a part of life.
"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan - to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations." With these words in his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln urged the people to heal the wounds of the terrible civil war. As the President, he never knew of these United States as a peaceful nation. Yet, after his untimely death, even his opponents agreed that this self-made lawyer became one of the greatest presidents this country has ever had. Not only did he safely guide the country out of a great difficult time, he used opportunity to free the southern slaves and prove to the world that this nation is indeed "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." It is with deep admiration that I always visit the Lincoln Memorial where "as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever."
One hundred years after Abraham Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation freeing the southern slaves, on the steps of the Lincoln memorial Martin Luther King echoed the sentiments of the forefathers of this nation. It was in his now famous "I have a dream" speech that he expressed his desire for a country where his children, and all children, "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." If we are to learn from the history, as every child who has ever gone on a road trip with parents, we must ask ourselves, "are we there, yet?"
Among other things, this city has intimately known both World Wars, rise and fall of the communism, Cuban missile crisis, death of President Kennedy, defeat in Vietnam, victory in Iraq, and the NAFTA debate between Al Gore and Ross Perot on Larry King Live.
Is this a history making town or what!
- Prasad Dharmasena, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
