DC at Night [series]The Washington DC mall at night is creepy. Even during the day, the city suffers from stodgy, self-righteously important architecture that makes the heart of our nation feel rather cold. At night, carefully lit memorials at first give a feeling of grandeur, but then succumb to a similar feeling of emptiness as the surrounding darkness encroaches upon them. Seeing these memorials now, when Iraq is getting out of hand, at a dark period in our country's history (headed by a particularly crappy president), was especially moving to me.
The Lincoln Memorial. Inside, above Lincoln's head, read the words "In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever." For me, these words evoke a deep sense of debt that I cannot ever imagine feeling for our friend George W Bush. Lincoln was all about uniting America; Bush is rather complacent about creating division. The contrast could not be greater. 
The World War II Memorial. This memorial is brand new, involves lots of water, and is very big. It makes a lot of sense in the grand scheme of the mall, though, and sits directly opposite the reflecting pool from the Lincoln Memorial. 
The Vietnam War Memorial. I've seen it before, but it still blew my mind to see just how many names appear here. In this shot, you can see the Washington Monument in the background, very eerily lit. I think they were doing construction around it. 
The Korean War Memorial. By far the most haunting of the DC monuments, the only lighting here were spotlights at the base of each soldier. They looked very ghostlike. And they look directly at you. 
The White House. The front of the structure, as seen from Pennsylvania Ave. The reason the photo looks like it was taken by a sniper in the grass is because I had to set my camera down on the ground to get a clear picture in low lighting. Well, that's my "official" story, at least. [ November 17, 2004 ]
Comments
I like these pictures -- I've never really seen the monuments at night. Posted by Sha Sha on November 20, 2004 11:52 PMHey Nate, NWILSON, I think my intentions and your interpretation of what I have written here differ substantially. I very sincerely understand and appreciate our veterans' sacrifices. Touring these memorials affected me especially for this reason. However, we have fought wars for many reasons. Yes, in some cases (most notably the revolutionary and world wars) we paid in lives to protect our freedom. But the driving forces behind other wars (Vietnam, Iraq) are more nebulous, and I think it does a disservice to those who died when we accept their sacrifice without questioning why they had to make it. Were millions of young men really sent to Vietnam to protect our freedom, or has "freedom" become a rather arbitrary term our government has used in the past and present to justify other ends? My "dark comments" are not meant to disrespect our veterans. I am indebted to them; I certainly do not think I have the courage to have walked in their shoes. Rather, I am asking whether we are doing everything we can to spare the lives of those servicemen and women still untouched by the atrocities of war, and whether our government is itself protecting our freedoms in every peaceful way possible. Posted by Nate on May 8, 2005 10:12 PM«Post a comment» |
