Washington D.C.: the sanctuary of a culture

The capital of the United States of America is designed accordingly to its status and offers a lot to see and visit. Indeed, it is the sanctuary of the American psyche as many of the museums and monuments illustrate.
I will start my observation with the travel system. If the commuting system at the Logan airport of Boston is quite clearly indicated, it is not what I thought about Dulles airport in Washington DC. Tickets in the metro are not valid for 24h as in New York and Boston but just for a day. Like at Dulles, the indications are not crystal clear as to where one is going. On the other hand, it is clean, spacious and allows going across the city quickly.

The city shelters a lot of free museums, most are located around the National Mall, which have been made possible thanks to the donation of British scientist Mr James Smithson , whose testament helped to create the Smithsonian Institute: “an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” Interestingly Smithson never set foot in America.

The first one of them that I visited was the Museum of Air and Space. It reminded me of the museum of Le Bourget near Paris. I guess that every museum about air and space are similar, nevertheless it is a very interesting place explain the history of the planes and what challenges are faced nowadays in space notably. It showcases a lot of planes and for the majority experimental vessels which are sometimes unique. However, it sounds to me as if the USA invented the plane; the USA obviously carried out the bulk of the aeronautical innovations after WWII but before it was not the case and this, to me, not clearly pointed.

I went after at the National Gallery. It is composed of the east and west buildings: one for the classic and modern works and one dedicated to the contemporary art. I would say that this museum is probably on par with the Metropolitan Museum of New York bar a few things. The museum exhibits some splendid collections of Degas and Daumier sculptures that are truly astonishing, as I have rarely seen that kind of compilations in any other museums that I recall. All the art eras displayed are quite complete. In addition, they are enshrined in a beautiful classic building. The contemporary art building is conceived to reflect what it contains too. On second thoughts, the Met seems more complete apart on the contemporary section, not something that I would care a lot for.

The National Museum of the American Indians, recently opened, seemed to be part of the political correctness tendency of the USA to please its minorities. It is not that it should not be done, but the reason makes it sound less genuine that it could be. As a result it is suppose to justify the existence of the native communities across the country. Their main message is to tell people about what is it about being a Native American and that their culture is trying to survive. “It is in my blood so i am a Native American and as a result I cannot ignore it” or “Fishing has been the main activity of my ancestor so I am myself a fisherman...” are the kind of testimony that the visitor can read. The bottom line seems to be pretty much naive as all cultures and peoples fight for “survivance” and succeed in different ways; political correctness is what saved the Native American. It shows that these communities do not adapt and choose to continue their ancestral activities in the face of evolution. Not to say that it is stupid and sound too harsh but as we say in France “c’est la vie!”; adapt or die is what life is probably all about as history teach us. The museum boasts a large collection of presentation of different Indian people but it makes it hard to distinguish all of them.

The Smithsonian Institute Building is a red brick neo gothic castle built in 1847 and is the hub of all the Smithsonian museums. It displays an eclectic collection of objects drawn from various eras which is probably supposed to give an outlook of what the museum of the Smithsonian Institute can offer.

After visiting these museums, I decided to head for the various memorials in town. As the city is not little and that there are many memorials, I could not walk to all of them. I went first to the Jefferson memorial which contains a little museum dedicated to the man and his ideals, although slave-owner against his wishes. The memorial is a classic construction reminding of antic Greek temple which offers a nice view on a water space. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial is not too far and is about peace in the world. While trying to reach the Iwo Jima memorial situated in Rosslyn I went wrongly to the national cemetery in Arlington: like any military museum, it is in impeccable order and even though it was not my country I could feel a lot of respect for these fallen men, whatever their allegiances.

On the next day I went to the National American History museum. There were exhibitions about the dresses of the first ladies, about the American flag in Baltimore during the war of 1812, Americans at war and other patriotic subjects such as anti-slavery. It is an interesting museum to get a first glimpse of American History; however the later is much more complex and less heroic and glamorous than told, as it is with any history.

The nearby National Portrait Gallery, did not raise a lot of enthusiasm in me I was not very interested in viewing all the portraits of various political figures of different political eras of the US history exhibited in most of the museum’s rooms. Neither did I particularly appreciate the exhibition on “American” arts.

I finished my tour of the memorial with the World War 1, World War 2, Korea war, Lincoln memorial and Vietnam War memorial where one can see pages of paper left by pupils thanking soldiers long gone for their sacrifice against the “nasty communists” and others. Some European travellers that I came across found it a bit too patriotic but it is a good example of the American patriotism and I do not think that it is something that excessive for a country that has been at war abroad for most of its history.

I finished with visiting the Georgetown area and its campus, like Harvard it looks like a British campus only with grey brick instead of the traditional red ones. Not much to say about it except that the area of Georgetown is much more friendly and lively than the centre of the city.

Overall, I noticed that the official status of the city was influencing my perception of it. Apart from the Smithsonian Museums and the various memorials dedicated to the history of the United States of America and the buildings, emblems of its power, or maybe because of that, the city did not feel very much lively in its centre. It felt like a city dedicated to showcase and glorify the attributes of the US nation, and in a certain manner justify its actual stance, behaviour on the international scene, its past. Critical spirit is nearly absent from this glorification and if it is not abnormal it remained slightly annoying to me.

The number of memorials of “recent” nature, as opposed in European countries tends to prove this justification. But every country, notably my own, has a city dedicated to that kind of historical justification and mythology, so how could I blame them for that?  As it happened in Europe, will this trend ends and see a change and maybe an end in the militaristic culture of the USA? Does a historical circle exist? I, for one, believe that it might be possible, however I will be long dead when it happens, as I believe it will take a few generations to happen, if I observe how it happened in Europe.

-C