Mr. Magruder Goes to Washington.

My girlfriend and I took advantage of the Colombus holiday to make a road trip. We drove down to Washington D.C. and spent the day there. We had a fantastic time, which is irrelavant, and I suggest that you all make the trip down if you can because D.C. looks completely different now that I'm not some bright-eyed eighth grader.

For this class, the relevant part of our trip conserned our destination. We spent the day on Independence Mall. We only had time to visit two museums because they close at 5:30 pm, but my girlfriend picked out two fantastic choices.

First stop was the National Holocaust Memorial. This is not a "date" museum. My girlfriend has wanted to see this site for years. I had already been to the museum on my last trip to Washington. We both were dramatically moved by the exhibits. In my opinion, if there ever was a war worth fighting it would have to have been World War II. However, the museum does a fantastic job of exhibiting how effectively persuasive the Nazi party was. Hitler makes modern "evil-doers" and any comparisons between them look paltry. The propaganda that he used and the manner in which he employed his tactics, and this is my opinion, is a model for our modern approach, especially how he kept so much of his operations under such lock and key that the general public was unaware of what he was perpetrating. Though I think Nazi ideals and tactics are too deplorable for words, I found myself in utter awe at their success rate. Hitler, unfortuately, is probably one of the most successful men in history. I suggest that you go see the exhibits. They are incredibly powerful in their subject matter, and then you leave the building, as if it were a movie theater, and realize that all of that happened, all of it is true.

Our second stop was at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Talk about propaganda! This building was teeming with it. Starting with the huge pro-America banners on the exterior, it felt like I was walking through a politically correct view of America. The upper floor was dominated by an exhibit celebrating Latin music queen, Celia Cruz. Then there were exhibits praising Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Ray Charles. The second floor felt basically like walking through the First Ladies' closet, as there was an exhibition of their actual gowns. Tucked away on the bottom floor was an exhibit that praised American scientific advancement, which none of its displays were in working order. And presiding over it all was a huge American flag. I was most offended by the "Disney-like" sugar coating that everything was presented with. Judging from these displays, Latinos and Blacks alike are only significant based upon their musical contributions, and women are only good for fashion; not to mention that science is a dead field not worth advancing. I think that ignoring the struggles that these people went through weakens their importance in American History. I would completely write off this museum if it were not for its one saving grace - an exhibit about Brown vs. Board of Education. This is the single exhibit that I felt accurately showed "American History" in a manner which makes me both sad and proud to be an American. As for everything else, it all seemed like fluff especially compared to the Brown vs. Board of Education exhibit.

I wish we could have seen more of the museums that surround Independence Mall. They are free to the public. We spent $30 on a tank of gas and $13 on a pair of Metro tickets so we could avoid parking fees and city traffic. Make time to go see your National Capital.