We the People (A Letter to Washington)

Yesterday I visited the National Archives on a whim.  It was a grey Tuesday afternoon, and the lines of people usually waiting to get into the Smithsonian museums were not around. The Rotunda, the room in the National Archives where the United States’ founding documents are stored, was practically empty. After grabbing a quick lunch in the cafeteria, I rode the elevator up to the main floor of the Archives, briefly stopped at the Magna Carta display (it was a facsimile; the original will not be on display until March 2012), breezed past the waiting ropes and up a few stairs, and there I was in the Rotunda.  Small groups were clustered around various displays. There was this one small display in the middle that looked very lonely; it looked like it might even be empty (from about 20 feet away, that is).  I walked up to it and just above there was an unobtrusive plaque that simply read “Declaration of Independence”.

Whoa.

There it was.  It does indeed look a couple hundred years old.  I did not try to read it because I did not have to.  The top line boldly declared “In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776” in large print, and towards the bottom I could make out John Hancock’s signature.  Other than being quite faded, the signature looked exactly like the facsimile that I grew up viewing in history books.  In like fashion, I saw the original Constitution and Bill of Rights.  I did not linger over any of the documents – though I could have.  All I would have had to do was wait out the few visitors who were in the room with me.  But I was so elated and stunned at the simple elegance of the presentation that I saw no reason to push the issue, and left the Rotunda to go home no more than ten minutes after entering.

For the record, security officers were present – I believe there were five or six officers in the Rotunda alone – but their presence was dignified and muted, in keeping with the sobriety and precision of the Rotunda.

The Declaration of Independence laying in the open for all to see while surrounded by mostly invisible and impenetrable security gives testimony to what the caretakers of this great nation can accomplish when they properly set their minds to the task. This lesson seems to be lost on a whole bunch of elected officials, who need to stop whining and pouting and get on with the business of making the electorate happy again.

Please.