After wandering round most of the National Archives building, I managed to find the entrance which was kind of tucked away out of easy view. Normally finding the queue to get in is pretty easy but as it turned out, there really was no queue to be found and I was able to walk right to the security screening checkpoint.
Given the immense value of the main exhibits at the Archives, I understand the need for the security checkpoint and when I saw the metal detector, I was of a mind to put my watch into the camera bag so it could go through the X-ray machine and I’d have an easier time getting through the screening.
As I’m trying to put my watch away, the guard starts saying something but it’s very hard to understand his voice behind the cloth mask. So I continue to try to put my watch into the bag but now he’s starting to get far more agitated and aggressive and I truly have no earthly idea why.
I finally give up and put my watch back on and put the camera bag on the X-ray conveyor belt and wait for him to direct me to walk through the detector. He finally slows down his speech and clearly tells me that the watch is perfectly fine and beckons me through the detector and of course it goes off because of my watch.
I end up getting the full wand treatment as if I’m a criminal and of course the only thing the wand alerts on is the watch.
I’m finally cleared through after the wand waving and retrieve my camera bag and ask him why he was so against me putting my watch in the bag which would have likely eliminated me getting wanded at all as my keys were also in the camera bag.
Not surprisingly, he chose not to answer what I thought was a reasonable question. Like I said, I get the need for the screening but if I’m trying to expedite the process by eliminating anything they ought to be worried about and voluntarily put it through the X-ray machine rather than walk through the detector, you’d think they’d prefer that rather than having to do the wand thing.
Seems a bit daft, if you ask me.
Anywho, after clearing the security theatre I wander round to see Magna Carta. Even though this was not the first time I’ve seen it (I’d seen it once before in San Antonio when one of the copies of the original document was on tour a few decades ago), it’s still an amazing document that King John was forced to sign by his nobles at Runnymede in 1215…some 807 years ago.
But the real reason I was here was to be found in the rotunda upstairs and I desperately needed to see these documents after the Holocaust museum was a stark reminder of what can happen when democracy and government are suborned by the forces of evil.
Of course I’m referring to the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
It seems that everyone else visiting the Archives had a similar idea as this was by far the most crowded room. Technically there isn’t really a queue to walk past them as the guards would repeatedly tell the crowd but the vast majority of us queued anyway and would occasionally be jostled and/or cross-checked by the more impatient visitors.
Here’s the secret no one tells you about the National Archives…the air-conditioning in the rotunda is easily amongst the best in all of Washington DC because the documents on display prefer cooler temperatures and low light for their preservation. If it’s hot and sticky outside which is not unusual for Washington DC in the summer, this is where you want to go to cool off. So when you get to the rotunda, don’t be in a rush and enjoy the nice cool air until it’s time to head back out into the oppressive heat and humidity one encounters in this city by the Potomac River! 🙂
It doesn’t take too long to get to the beautiful containers containing the documents. The containers themselves are bomb-proof and in an emergency, the documents can be lowered into a very strong bunker underneath the pedestal upon which they stand.
I will say that the newly redesigned display cases are much better than the ones they replaced where it was very hard to make out much more than the heading and John Hancock’s signature on the Declaration or the big “We the people” on the Constitution because there was a greenish tinge to the glass due to the inert gases protecting the documents.
Unfortunately, no photographs of any kind are permitted as flash photography is also not helpful in preserving these fragile documents. Normally I’d be a bit bummed having to leave the camera be but these documents are too precious to even risk it. I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed to be respecting that rule.
This place is very special to me and is my touchstone of hope that in spite of the dark times in which we find ourselves, the government envisioned by them still endures even when it may occasionally lose it’s way.
It is up to use to ensure that we hold the government of the day accountable for what they do but to do so in a way that respects and defends the ideals of the Constitution. Other documents have been written laying out the foundation of human rights and governance but nothing has ever come close to eloquence of the Constitution and I suspect there may never be another.
After the visit, it was time to head back out to the Metro station near the Navy Memorial and the Department of Justice building which is easily the most uncomfortable office address in Washington DC right now as Attorney General Merrick Garland held a press conference where he was advising the public that the DOJ was putting forth a motion to unseal the search warrant that had been executed earlier in the week at former President Trump’s home in Florida, Mar-a-Lago.
That search was unprecedented in American political history and the trove of classified documents that were found there will have political reverberations for months and years to come.
My good fortune with the trains was continuing when I got to the transfer platform at L’Enfant station and literally walked onto a Silver train bound for Weihle-Reston East right before it was due to depart.
The hour-long trip back to Reston was a welcome time to rest and relax and the drive back to the hotel was fairly quick as I gave in to using the tolled motorway.
There was a Jacuzzi tub that I could not get to fast enough to relax my tired and sore muscles! 🙂
