Liberalguy

Above, and Beyond By Monica Crowley (bio)

Today I write from the base of the Washington Monument. The ring of American flags embraces, the soaring height of the monument symbolic of the General’s physical and historic stature. People stroll by: a wheelchair-bound Korean War vet, with his grandchildren. I stop to thank him for his service. He looks astonished for a moment, and then says, “I haven’t heard that in a while. Thank you.” There was a lot of gratitude packed into that small moment. There was a group of young children, some of whom almost lost their balance looking for the top of the monument. “It’s so big!” one of them exclaimed. But not nearly as big as the man it salutes. People of all nationalities take it in, cameras dangling from around their necks, guidebooks in hand. Most of them look up, then turn to face the Capitol at the far end of the Mall. They speak in hushed tones, or fall silent. A small group of Muslims walks toward the Monument. The women wear headscarves. They are welcome on the Mall, but apparently not at an Obama campaign rally. They call New York’s Times Square “the crossroads of the world,” and in many ways it is. But the vast expanse of open space between the Capitol and the Washington Monument is a different kind of crossroads: people from across the country and around the world come here not to enjoy a slice of pizza or buy a cheap T-shirt or catch a show. Instead, they come here for a quiet lesson: in the power of democracy (even when it’s imperfect), in the courage of principle, the strength found in freedom, the heroic examples of the American immortals. Despite a few wayward detours, the United States of America is a pretty sturdy character. Sometimes its leaders have disappointed. But the American idea never has.