We attempted to ride the Metro into DC, but all the parking lots were full at Shady Grove, so we decided to drive further South on 270 expecting to see the other Metro exit signs. We never saw them, so we ended up driving into downtown DC and found a free parking spot close to the mall.
Once at the Southern side of the mall, we started our mall adventures at the Franklin Deleno Roosevelt memorial (that either was not there in 2001, or we never made it there last time.) At first my reaction to FDR's New Deal during the great depression, creating the CCC and employing folks sounded like a noble cause, but then Amy reminded me of the history of the previous president, Woodrow Wilson, who would not forcibly take from one man's riches and give to another man, but had desired that people would do it out of the own goodwill to the underprivileged. That did not make Woodrow Wilson a hero, even though he had stuck to his convictions, while FDR started the Social Welfare system that we still use today. Given the great depression, FDR did a better job with America than I soon relearned Germany did with Hitler.
Then we walked East toward another memorial that we did not see last time too, that of George Mason - the author of the first Bill of Rights (for Virginia). Then on around to the Thomas Jefferson memorial. These two founding fathers of our country, having learned from England what was wrong with their government, were able to put into our new republic new governing rules that allowed men to defend themselves (right to bear arms) against a government gone corrupt, and freedom of speech, and freedom of religion, etc. What a foundation of freedom they laid for us!
As we came back around the East edge and headed West on the North side, we decided to go into the Holocaust Museum. We started at 2:45pm and didn't finish until 6:15pm. It reminded us all of our trip to Dachau Germany's concentration camp in 2003, and was extremely sobering. To see how, with only 38% of the public vote, Hitler was given the position of Chancellor in January of 1933, while the councilors of the aging democratic president assured him that Hitler would become more moderate and that they could keep him "under control", even though they did not like him. However, within 6 months, Hitler became the new dictator of Germany, using brutality and fear to control, and forcing all of his political opponents into jail, changed the laws drastically, changed the school curriculum to make him Germany's "saviour", burned books, took control over all the press, and carried on with his mission to first attempt to get the Jews out of Germany (due to Evolutionist ideas he and his scientists believed - which reminded me of the recent movie that pointed this out well - "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed") and then the "Final Solution" which was to attempt to completely annihilate them - he killed hundreds of thousands of Jews, and thousands of others too, that he felt were inferior to his "Assyrian" race: Gypsies, Jehovah Witnesses, homosexuals, and people who spoke up to defend these as well were enemies of the state. His killing squads that killed thousands at a time, having them dig their own graves before shooting them (over 10,000 people were killed at many locations.) Comparing FDR and his socialistic views from the great depression was a great lesser evil than the obvious evil Hitler did.
We went by the Washington memorial that had already closed at 5pm, so headed on up to the Abraham Lincoln memorial. His humility on his second inaugural address was absolutely amazing to me (during the time of the Civil War). He clearly spoke in terms of the Sovereignty of God, His Will, prayer from both sides to the same God, in the midst of this terrible war http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres32.html
We reflected upon the day, by sitting and having an ice cream as the sun began to set and the sunset began to change the colors of the Washington Memorial into those orange tones that only the sunset can do.
When we left the City with our car, we didn't have a detailed map, nor the laptop, so we knew we needed to go back to Clarksburg MD area (North and West) and get onto 270, so took a shot at what we thought was 95 that looked like it headed north and then west around the top of the City on the little map we had; however we missed 95 and ended up on the turnpike to Baltimore and kept noticing the Van's direction kept stating NE, so we pulled over after about 25 miles at an exit, bought a map, made it over to 95, retraced a few miles, then finally got home about 10:15pm - didn't eat much for dinner and were still thankful for the rain the night before as we could tell the temperature was more bearable to sleep again.
Once at the Southern side of the mall, we started our mall adventures at the Franklin Deleno Roosevelt memorial (that either was not there in 2001, or we never made it there last time.) At first my reaction to FDR's New Deal during the great depression, creating the CCC and employing folks sounded like a noble cause, but then Amy reminded me of the history of the previous president, Woodrow Wilson, who would not forcibly take from one man's riches and give to another man, but had desired that people would do it out of the own goodwill to the underprivileged. That did not make Woodrow Wilson a hero, even though he had stuck to his convictions, while FDR started the Social Welfare system that we still use today. Given the great depression, FDR did a better job with America than I soon relearned Germany did with Hitler.
Then we walked East toward another memorial that we did not see last time too, that of George Mason - the author of the first Bill of Rights (for Virginia). Then on around to the Thomas Jefferson memorial. These two founding fathers of our country, having learned from England what was wrong with their government, were able to put into our new republic new governing rules that allowed men to defend themselves (right to bear arms) against a government gone corrupt, and freedom of speech, and freedom of religion, etc. What a foundation of freedom they laid for us!
As we came back around the East edge and headed West on the North side, we decided to go into the Holocaust Museum. We started at 2:45pm and didn't finish until 6:15pm. It reminded us all of our trip to Dachau Germany's concentration camp in 2003, and was extremely sobering. To see how, with only 38% of the public vote, Hitler was given the position of Chancellor in January of 1933, while the councilors of the aging democratic president assured him that Hitler would become more moderate and that they could keep him "under control", even though they did not like him. However, within 6 months, Hitler became the new dictator of Germany, using brutality and fear to control, and forcing all of his political opponents into jail, changed the laws drastically, changed the school curriculum to make him Germany's "saviour", burned books, took control over all the press, and carried on with his mission to first attempt to get the Jews out of Germany (due to Evolutionist ideas he and his scientists believed - which reminded me of the recent movie that pointed this out well - "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed") and then the "Final Solution" which was to attempt to completely annihilate them - he killed hundreds of thousands of Jews, and thousands of others too, that he felt were inferior to his "Assyrian" race: Gypsies, Jehovah Witnesses, homosexuals, and people who spoke up to defend these as well were enemies of the state. His killing squads that killed thousands at a time, having them dig their own graves before shooting them (over 10,000 people were killed at many locations.) Comparing FDR and his socialistic views from the great depression was a great lesser evil than the obvious evil Hitler did.
We went by the Washington memorial that had already closed at 5pm, so headed on up to the Abraham Lincoln memorial. His humility on his second inaugural address was absolutely amazing to me (during the time of the Civil War). He clearly spoke in terms of the Sovereignty of God, His Will, prayer from both sides to the same God, in the midst of this terrible war http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres32.html
We reflected upon the day, by sitting and having an ice cream as the sun began to set and the sunset began to change the colors of the Washington Memorial into those orange tones that only the sunset can do.
When we left the City with our car, we didn't have a detailed map, nor the laptop, so we knew we needed to go back to Clarksburg MD area (North and West) and get onto 270, so took a shot at what we thought was 95 that looked like it headed north and then west around the top of the City on the little map we had; however we missed 95 and ended up on the turnpike to Baltimore and kept noticing the Van's direction kept stating NE, so we pulled over after about 25 miles at an exit, bought a map, made it over to 95, retraced a few miles, then finally got home about 10:15pm - didn't eat much for dinner and were still thankful for the rain the night before as we could tell the temperature was more bearable to sleep again.
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