by Charles Primerano
As we celebrate the Fourth of July, I'm reminded of my recent trip to our
nation's capital, Washington, DC. This time of year it gets a bit crowded
with tour groups and vacationers, but watching them can tell you much
about what makes our nation great.
Conventional wisdom says that outside the Beltway (the Interstate Highway that cuts through Maryland and Virginia and surrounds the District) most Americans have distrust or even contempt for Washington. That's probably true and it's probably a healthy thing because, after all, our revolution was a rejection of the overly centralized power of a certain King George. Our coldness towards London simply evolved into coldness towards Washington.
We like to complain that Washington is out of touch or that it spends too much of our money. Many think that sitting on the Potomac is a monolith that decides our fate, expects tribute, and demands our subservience.
But look into the eyes of a father as he walks with his son up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. You will see a pride in what his country has given him and what will be there for his child. Outside of the National Archives in the 100 degree heat, there is a long line waiting to enter the gallery. Why are they waiting? They want to see an original copy of their Declaration of Independence - the icon of the holiday we celebrate this weekend.
Washington is more than a collection of monuments and museums though. It is also a place of optimism. This is evident on the faces of those you pass in the hallways of the Capitol Building. It may be a senator or a staff member, it doesn't matter; they are there because they believe in the future.
John Kennedy once said, "Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be president, but they don't want them to become politicians in the process." Most Americans probably wish that all of their elected officials could avoid being politicians. Even George Washington tried to avoid being one. But in the city that bears his name, politics is what keeps the revolution alive.
Washington, DC has always been a place of continuous revolution - in other words the rejection of the unacceptable. The abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, workplace protections, Civil Rights, Social Security, environmental protection, are all examples of Washington politicians working through their differences to reject the unacceptable. Of course, some of these "revolutions" took decades to realize and some are still ongoing. It is a very imperfect process, to be sure, in the hands of imperfect people.
George Washington, the father of our country and our revolution, gave his all during his generation so that Washington, the place and the idea, would belong to every generation thereafter to make of them what they could. This is both our privilege and our duty.
Let us all, on this holiday, celebrate the bond that we have as Americans - and the revolutions to come.
Charles Primerano has lived in Ridgefield for four years. He is a member of the Ridgefield Democratic Town Committee which supplies this column.