When I visited Washington DC as a kid, it was more of a distraction: I didn't really know the magnitude of where I was, I just was just happy to be on a class trip with classmates away from my parents, I didn't need to know where I was. When I visited as a college student with Alternative Spring Break, I witnessed the majesty of Washington DC at night: the reflecting pool, the iconic National mall, but I was also chasing after the affections of another trip member on the trip and thinking of ways to impress her, so I was pretty distracted to get a full understanding of the city. I guess I always figured I'd have another chance to come back since it's so iconic.
It's almost surreal that the White House is where it is: an ordinary street of restaurants, stoplights, etc. gives way suddenly to one of the most iconic buildings in the U.S., the world, essentially the real world equivalent of the Iron Thorne for whom the resident controls the most important position of the free world. I've always thought that the President shouldn't actually live in the White House, or any special house at all: why not live amongst the people, because a true populist leader, who understands how most people live and not some fancy castle-like structure that gives rise to fears of elitism and class warfare; more importantly, the people would know that the President was a man (or woman) amongst themselves and actually cared about them.I know the White House has some nice percs like first class dining and awesome rooms and portraits of all the former Presidents and is one of the iconic rooms in history and the President can escape in Air Force One immediately in the event of an alien attack, but the message to the people, I feel would be stronger: no one person is above all others. If I were President of the US (impossible under the current laws), I'd try to do that. If I were the leader of any country, I'd do that: forget the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, forget Buckingham Palace, etc., take a page from the movies and have the President be a man of the people.
It's also pretty amazing that some of the most important laws and court decisions are made in this city, the center of political power and where decisions are made that change the course of history. Outside the Senate building is.......a bunch of tourists, outside the Supreme Court is.....a bunch of tourists and on weekdays like today, just regular civilians going to work. There IS a pokecenter in the White House and all those other iconic buildings, though, so that's another feather in their hat in terms of relevancy. I guess the whole idea of all the lawmaking being in a physical location isn't as important as it used to be.....the laws of the country could e made on an online chat forum if needed, really. Maybe Congress, the White House, and all other places will eventually just be online or computer entities that aren't physically located anywhere, just abstract ideas much like our entire existence kind of is. (That got metaphysical really quick, sorry)
D.C. is much more humid than Los Angeles- like many East coast cities, Washington DC gets hot and humid in the summer, and prone to thunderstorms. I'm starting to understand why L.A. seems to have so many homeless people and more than what seems like any other city in the country: if I were homeless, I'd want to be in LA too cuz you could actually survive in LA: through the winters, through the hot summers, the only thing I'd worry about is a water source. Here in D.C., water is kinda free....restaurants and hotels give it out without too much hassle, and there's actually water fountains! What a relief in the summer.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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