Washington DC

While I was in DC for a work conference last weekend, I had the opportunity to check out some of the places most associated with our United States of America. I had been there once before, years and years ago for a family reunion (my dad grew up in DC), but I wasn't quite old enough to know what these monuments stood for. As I walked up the steps to the Supreme Court, it hit me that that this is where everything in our country happens. These are the places where America was shaped into what it is today. It's the site of many of our proudest-- and weakest-- moments. Yet what shook me most wasn't the feeling of standing on those hallowed grounds, it was the sense that even a place as important as this was trivialized by the thousands of tourists who arrive each day, and stay just long enough to snap a couple photos before leaving. The most important place in our country seemed just another tourist trap.

My greatest hope for the next year is that we elect a leader that will make us proud to be American again, and proud to visit national monuments where we can feel the weight of the struggles and achievements of the people who came before us. We are a country in need of change and inspiration.

Here's to November!