Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Hail, Columbia

When I got dressed this morning, I put on the sweatshirt I got in Washington, D.C. a few years ago. It got me to thinking about our trip (my entire family went for the WWII Memorial dedication) and about how great D.C. is. I would love to go back before too long and see more things. There is just so much to see and do that you only scratch the surface with a week's vacation. All the memorials are wonderful to see (the Jefferson Memorial is especially inspiring), and the Library of Congress, the Capitol Building, the National Archives, Arlington Cemetery...oh my! The Smithsonian is incredible...I've spent a couple of days there, total, and I haven't even begun to see all that they display. The Aeronautics portion was fun to see, but I love the American history part the most, I think. It truly does make you proud to be an American. I know we're not well-liked in the world at the moment, and I hope we can start to remedy that in the coming years, but regardless of how you feel about what is happening in the country, it's awe-inspiring to learn more about our history and remember all the ideals and the ideas that formed the basis of our country and our constitution.

And best of all...it's all FREE! That's right, none of the federally-run museums or facilities charge admission. Well...it's not really free. As taxpayers, we fund it all. But it's an important thing, and I don't mind our money going towards that. I almost think it should be mandatory for everyone in the country to at least go to the National Archives and see those documents. (I know we can't really mandate that, but I think it's that important.) There are some serious flaws in the political process, and there are some seriously flawed politicians, but if you go back to the basis of our government, you can't help but be grateful for what we have here. (The recent elections in Venezuela and Russia should reinforce that.)

As for politicians, Shane sent me this a while back, and I think it's a good tool to see what some of the big issues are and how the candidates feel about them. Find a candidate that you can support. I'm tellin' ya...watch out for Huckabee. I think he's going to come on strong.

Later

I put out corn cobs for the squirrels. They stripped the one I put out yesterday, and they're working on the one I put out this morning.


 
 
 

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