DC Trip: The Capitol

by Ethan Reichsman

Photo by Katmere

The imposing figure of the Capitol looms over all of DC. It’s a building of grandeur and importance that defines DC’s skyline as symbol of American freedom. In fact, Freedom is the name of the statue on the Capitol’s dome. When our class toured the Capitol, it seemed even grander and more richly decorated on the inside than the outside. When we sat in a session of the House, however, the grandness vanished.

     The actual room of the House is impressive, with a ceiling two stories tall and a viewing gallery on balconies around the edges.  A tiny glass dome, no more than a few feet high, is in the center of the ceiling. But the discussion going on ruined all that. It changed my impression of the whole Capitol as a grand masterpiece of American architecture that is home to these important, shadowy, politicians making vital decisions that affect the entire country. These aforementioned politicians were introducing and promoting resolutions to honor various institutions including (but not limited to) a summer camp and a school sports team. Since then, I have been wondering about the system of American government. Don’t these Congressmen have better things to do?

    Then I remembered the other things they created and discussed, like the ACES bill that’s being voted on in June. I guess the debates are a balance between extremely important energy bills and resolutions honoring a summer camp. This range of topics was quite surprising to me. I guess that you don’t really know what goes on up at the Capitol, unless you’re a part of it. Or you watch C-Span, of course.