I wanted to comment on this article I read last week in the Wall Street Journal. The article is about the construction of the Capitol Visitors Center and how it is way behind schedule and way over budget (of course it is...the government is involved). I think the concept of the visitors center is nice. I like the thought that the lines to get into the Capitol will be indoors in an air conditioned space. I like that people will be able to learn about the Capitol and its history. It is a great concept. But this quote from the article saddens me:

Even its detractors agree that the center will be both informative and pretty.
Pretty enough, perhaps, to make Americans forget that by herding them underground into a separate facility, Congress - the branch of government designed by the Founding Fathers to be closest to the people - is putting even more space between itself and its pesky constituents.
It's likely that the two remaining entrances to the Capitol itself will be closed to all but members and staff, with all visitors funneled through the underground center.

I got to visit D.C. as a Junior in high school and then I lived in D.C. for six weeks after my Junior year in college as an intern for Senator Jeff Bingaman. I love D.C.! It is one of my favorite places in the world. Some of the best memories I have of my summer there revolve around the Capitol. Working across the Street in one of the Senate office buildings, I saw the Capitol every day on my way to work. It was one of the first sights I sas as I drove into town looking for my apartment. Some of the interns where I lived had a running joke about the Capitol being our "office." We would even hang out on the Capitol grounds at night time. We could walk around the plazas, sit on the steps, hang out at the reflecting pool. One of the most pleasurable things I have done is hang out at the Capitol late at night, long after the crowds are gone, and gaze down the mall at the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. I was in the Capitol building numerous times. I even gave tours to constituents. My ID badge allowed me to go down some hallways that regular visitors were not in. I knew my way around. I knew where the statues were...I knew where certain staircases went. I could get around so easily. Often, I ate lunch in the dining room and would see Senators on the subway to the Capitol. And of course, I sat in on several sessions. I think most of the gifts I bought in D.C. that summer were bought in the Capitol gift shop. Needless to say, I have very fond memories of that building.

One of the coolest things about the Capitol then was the ease of getting inside. You could enter the building through most of the doors and wander through the building on your own. You could start at the Senate side and wander down toward the House side, lingering wherever you wish. You could pop in one side, stroll through the Rotunda and head to the West Front and see the view down the mall as you emerged from the building.

I knew that access to the Capitol had been tightly controlled since 9/11 and I understand why. We don't want some wacko walking in with a backpack bomb killing several hundred people and severly damaging this historic building. But it makes me sad that we are losing the "freedom" we had to enter the seat of our goverment. And now, there is talk that there will be only one access point for the public? I don't want to be an old fogie, focused on "things were better back in my day." But when I take my children there, I want to have control over the experience. I want to show them around and tell them what a cool place it was. I don't want to be part of the herd.

So I think a visitors center is a great idea. I'm all for the education. But if this is the "expense" it comes with, I don't want it. I hope that someday we can overcome our fear and open the place back up. But I doubt that will happen in my lifetime. And even if it did, we usually don't backtrack on security measures, so this is just how it's going to be.

The post 9/11 generations are truly missing something special.