The death of a city

Recent Post

Think NATION!

---

First 100 Days and Political Capital

---

The "No-Proc" Scenarios

---

Political Correctness?

---

Why PUBLiCUS left Chiz Escudero (Part III)

---

WASHINGTON D.C. – In 1991, I had the distinct privilege of working in the U.S. Congress under the American Political Science Associations’ Congressional Fellowship Program.I was one of the four Asian foundation fellows and one of the six foreign fellows, including two Germans in that program.There was Thanong Khanthong, a Thai journalist of The Nation; Hashbatyn Hulan, a Mongolian intellectual who at that time has a doctoral degree in Russia and Mongolian history, and Jackson Ke-Cheng Chang who worked for the Legislative Yuan of Taiwan, a free soul.

We were all together sharing a year’s experience in working in the U.S. Capitol and somehow our lives crossed in a city laden with power.During those days, Washington D.C. was very beautiful.You can roam around the great institutions, museums, memorials and monuments during daytime and you can witness the pageantry of lights at night.You knew then that you were in a place where decisions are made, where institutions and monuments have drama and politicians had flair and of course the usual anomalies and scandals, but most of all, the moment was important because you were reading or imbibing history or was making your history.

But D.C. was a lot open then. D.C. today is littered with flower boxes, iron posts, barracks and barriers.Despite being a mere district with no representation in the Senate, the development of the city then was quite spectacular.It is a city that has a lot of character that is not too cosmopolitan like New York or too laid back like California.But it is a city where people who love politics and thrive in a political environment would want to be.There are enough green corridors and much history and culture, not only from the buildings and monuments but also because of a hand full of museums and the number is growing what with the Botanic Garden, which I saw being constructed from 2000 to 2002, and then you have the Newseum and Holocaust Memorial Museum.In D.C., there is something for everyone.

Today, the whole U.S. Capitol is being renovated and fenced in.The Library of Congress has steel railings and the pavements are boxed in.Even the Ellipse has been boxed, as well as the walkways going through the stretch of the Washington monument and the Lincoln memorial.The grass portions are also cordoned off by wood and wire under the pretext of reconditioning the grass patches.

One who has lived in the city in the early 90s and studied in the early 2000s and who has frequented the place every election cycle, D.C. today has lost much of its beauty, its openness and its greatness.It looked like a fortress being subjected to a major repair.Even the free White House tours then needed an endorsement from a Senator or Congressman three months prior to the visit.Somehow one wonders if this is just a cycle or if it is reflective of the person sitting in the White House or the party in power?Both captive of the horrors of September 11.

I hope someday soon, Washington D.C. will look like it used to be, when there were less of fences, barricades, flower boxes, etc. and more of people-friendly environment that is generally open and free and ready smiles of people assisting tourists because really Washington D.C. is not only the capital of the United States of America, it also symbolizes freedom and democracy for many.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions advanced in this article is the author’s own, and may not necessarily represent the views and opinions of THE LOBBYiST, its editors, or its publishers.

Factual Errors? Email us at editorial@thelobbyist.biz.

Copyright 2007 The LOBBYiST. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the expressed permission of The LOBBYiST.