After that most of us went into the House chamber. It wasn’t in session but it was still awesome to go in there. Looking down where the “action” is was impressive by itself, but then a police guard came in to answer questions and tell us all about the symbolism and rituals of the place. Surrounding the upper walls are a series of reliefs of the faces of lawmakers that influenced the founding of US law. Only 2 of them are Americans: James Mason and Thomas Jefferson. All the faces are looking to the side, leading toward where the Speaker of the House stands, except for one. Moses is facing straight forward, looking directly at the Speaker’s podium. It made me wonder if any of the reps ever look up at his face and ponder the significance of being duty bound to protect the people in terms of God’s law. I’m gonna guess no. Our police guard, Carmen, explained that the Speaker stands at the top, and that if ever the President comes in to talk, he stands on the second tier, and he can’t come into the Chamber unless he is specifically invited. She also told us that, from our perspective looking down, the Democrats sit on the left and the Republicans on the right, and it is because the Democrats’ political party is older. If the President enters, he has to walk up the center aisle to approach the podium. He can’t show favoritism symbolically by entering from his party’s side of the room. Besides the symbolism, the guard told us quite a few other intriguing bits. As she quizzed the students on who was our current Speaker of the House, and one of the boys answered correctly that it was Nancy Pelosi, one of the moms asked if there was an exciting vibe in the room when Pelosi first took the podium as speaker. The guide’s answer was “I don’t like her. But she got a standing ovation.” Our group assured her that we don’t like her either, and Carmen went on to explain why she doesn’t like her. Carmen told us that she likes to say good morning and greet all the Representatives she sees, and when she greets Nancy Pelosi, Nancy keeps her head down and ignores her like she’s not there, and Carmen has zero respect for that. I thought that was very telling, and also, I’m pretty sure that I’d do everything I could to make sure that the people who are in charge of my protection and taking a bullet for me if necessary didn’t think I was a jerk. She told us about Cynthia McKinney, the rep. who attacked a police officer, and how stupid she thought it was that McKinney tried to make it about race, when it was about the officer doing his job. Each rep. has an id card; all they have to do is pull it out and show it. The officers can’t just take your word for it, especially if they don’t recognize you. Carmen also told us of the procedural issues. When there are debates, each side gets 30 minutes. There are rules of conduct: you can’t go overtime, you can’t cuss, you can’t yell, and if you do you’ll get brought up on ethics charges. She also hilariously told us that when the representatives refer to “my friend across the aisle” was they really mean is “you ***hole.”. She was so genial, as were several of the guards, but they are always on duty, as shown when a member of our group yelled rather loudly. Her hand immediately went to her gun, and every empty entry way was instantly filled with a guard, hand on gun. Their reaction time and control over the situation was incredible. After the Capitol, the group got to do whatever they wanted the rest of the day. Several of us meandered to a café by the Sculpture Garden for a snack and sitting break. Everyone except William and me went on to do other things. We walked around looking at the statues, most of which were just weird and pointless, before heading back to the hotel.
To be seen today: US History Museum, China Town, Portrait Gallery.
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