The DC Reality Tour
Some years ago, and I'm not entirely sure when, I gave some speech about what a reality tour of D.C. would actually be like, not one of those civic-religion trips sponsored by groups hoping to instill adoration of government but a true look at the actual nature of the state through its monuments and memorials. I never wrote this idea up but Anders Mikkelsen heard the talk and did take the time to actually write it up. So: presenting The DC Reality Tour, covering the eternal conflict between state and society. Feel free to add your own tour suggestions in the comments.
Comments (30)
Enjoy Every Sandwich
The Holocaust Museum is a good lesson on the one thing government does best: mass murder.
The FDR Memorial is a good place to contrast the truth with deceptive government propaganda.
Published: April 10, 2009 8:08 AM
Ron
This makes me wanna buy a double-decker tour bus and start the DC Reality Tour for real. Who else wants in on the ground floor?
Published: April 10, 2009 8:21 AM
Tim Kern
I first went to DC in January of 1969, and I was in awe of the historic monuments; I saw the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. (Remember when we had those as more than mere artifacts?) I wandered freely into and near many government buildings, just as I imagined a young citizen might.
In 1998, I visited again, this time with a group of my high school students. We were blocked from entering many buildings. Enormous concrete flowerpots and military vehicle barriers prevented anyone from staging vehicular attacks on the groups of rulers protected within. I walked, alone, up the stairs of the FBI headquarters, and I was stopped before I even got to the door by security people who demanded to know why I wanted to come in.
One of my students asked, "Do they think we're so mad at them, that they have to treat us like a mob on Bastille Day?"
The answer, of course, is "yes." And we should be.
Other observations: At the Jefferson Memorial, the phrase about how, "When a government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it," is omitted from the carved inscription.
Later I vowed, as I approached the Vietnam memorial, that I wouldn't be like all those other people whom I saw leaving it with tears in their eyes. Then I walked up to it, and right in front of my face was the name of a friend I had lost to that war. Of the thousands of names on that wall, I had walked straight up to Tom's! Well, the students didn't understand my sudden rush of tears, but even so, I wasn't embarrassed; I was quietly furious.
A guard there (there are thousands of guards to protect the State's properties), a gentleman about my age, looked at me with the tears pouring down my face and said quietly, "Happens all the time."
Too bad, eh?
Published: April 10, 2009 10:43 AM
John
"Taxes are the price we pay for civilization."
Oh, god, that is so depressing. Here on a Friday, that ruined my week...
Published: April 10, 2009 10:56 AM
David
Ron, sounds like a great idea on paper, but just exactly how many americans do you think are ready to embrace the cold reality of what DC is really about? I think the last election should answer that question.
If my wife and I ever have the courage to enter Mordor again, and you are running such a tour, we will definitely take it.
Published: April 10, 2009 11:30 AM
Bryan
It would be nice if your D.C. Reality Tour itself visited reality. Your paranoia over the use of fasces in government architecture is quite humourous. If you were to do some research of on our Founding Fathers you would learn that they used many of the ideas from ancient Rome in creating our government.
Abraham Lincoln did preserve the Union. Had he not done so the tyrannical racists of the Confederate States of America, who had wanted secession and war for almost 30 years, would have destroyed our country. The southern states did not believe in the Constitutional idea of states rights. The CSA was formed for the sole purpose of the protection of slavery. Those are facts about the War to Protect Slavery (AKA the War Between the States) that Southern apologist refuse to understand.
Then there is the fact that fasces only became a symbol of abusive government when Mussolini used them. Prior to that they were symbols of the strength found when people join together in a common cause. Such as when people join the Ludwig von Mises Institute for bringing sane economic policies back to our government. Is the Mises Institute a fascist organization? It seeks strength through numbers. The word fascism and the political system it describes was created to describe anti-communist political movements in 1919. Or perhaps the idea of being an anti-communist is a bad idea?
Where your "Reality Tour" truly goes off the deep end is the comment;
'Some are under the illusion that this memorial praising the United States' offensive invasion force was a memorial for those defending the country. Fortunately the memorial brilliantly lists practically every country the US military has ever invaded, etched around the sides.
If you've ever doubted that the USA is an empire, there will be little doubt after this visit.'
How the hell were the totalitarian forces of the Axis Powers to be destroyed without invading the countries they had conquered? America is an empire? More paranoid babbling. Look up the word empire in any dictionary and you will see that the US is not an empire!
The Ludwig Von Mises Insitute does a lot of good when it sticks to discussions of economic policies. Whenever the Mises Institute ventures into a political discussion it negates the good it does educating people about economics. Stick to economics and quit embarrasing the Mises Institute with the idiocy of this "D.C. Reality Tour".
Published: April 10, 2009 11:32 AM
Jason Gordon
How could the "Newseum" propaganda museum be left out?
Newseum Core Messages
The free press is a cornerstone of democracy.
People have a need to know. Journalists have a right to tell.
Finding the facts can be difficult. Reporting the story can be dangerous.
Freedom includes the right to be outrageous. Responsibility includes the duty to be fair.
News is history in the making. Journalists provide the first draft of history.
A free press, at its best, reveals the truth.
The Newseum was founded in 1997 by The Freedom Forum which focuses on three priorities: the Newseum, the First Amendment and newsroom diversity [in thinking and opinion I'm sure].
Published: April 10, 2009 12:24 PM
Adam
Bryan,
Before making egregious statements about the Civil War, perhaps you should do some reading on the subject. Here is the document "Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union" written in 1852, which explicitly attributes the Constitutional idea of states rights to secession.... http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/reasons.html#South%20Carolina
It seems you also need a reality check...
Published: April 10, 2009 12:51 PM
Chad
DC is one of my favorite cities. Once you get away from the core of the federal government there are many safe, beautiful neighborhoods. Downtown is also quite attractive when you get past the brutalist government structures. If I didn't love Philly so much I'd have no problem living in the District.
Published: April 10, 2009 12:57 PM
geoih
Quote from Adam: "Before making egregious statements about the Civil War, perhaps you should do some reading on the subject."
The problem is no matter how nuanced or intellectual or logical the argument, whenever you try to defend the South's secession, you end up indirectly defending slavery. Whenever you try to show the invasion of Europe or Japan was imperialist, you end up indirectly defending the Holocaust and atrocities in China. It doesn't matter how logical your arguments are, these events inextricably linked to these other terrible facts. You simply can't evade them.
You need better examples, because these arguments could only sway the most detached thinker (hardly a large population).
Published: April 10, 2009 1:45 PM
pbergn
I actually like the DC. It's a nice, and beautiful city - one of my favorites in the world. I was visiting there in April 2008. It's pretty metropolitan, and I say compares to some of European larger cities... I liked to frequent that little coffee shop called "Camille's Sidewalk Cafe" at the corner of 7th St. NW and F St. NW in downtown... It was fun...
What author writes about is true, though... Sad but true...
Published: April 10, 2009 1:59 PM
C. Evans
"The problem is no matter how nuanced or intellectual or logical the argument, whenever you try to defend the South's secession, you end up indirectly defending slavery."
Such folly is yet another reason why I despise democracy. Perhaps we should point out Lincoln helped draft a Constitutional Amendment that would have prohibited the Federal Government from ever interferring in Southern slavery. If such truth will not disabuse nationalists of false belief that to defend the South is to defend slavery, then it will become clear that such individuals believe that the State is supreme entity to which its subject owe fealty and they are not at all interested in truth.
Published: April 10, 2009 2:01 PM
Brutus
Bryan,
I am a Black male and I am sick and tired of you nationalists who argue that without Lincoln slavery would never have ended. As C. Evans pointed out, Lincoln had no problem keeping my ancestors in chains forever. Lincoln was a white supremacist who believed that blacks could be equal as long as they were sent back to Africa where they could enjoy their natural rights in their native clime. Lincoln invaded the South soley to collect a tariff which the South did not want to pay.
The idea that secession was illegal is a specatular lie. The US was founded in an act of secession (and keep in mind that the colonies had slaves as well). Thus, the South was doing what the orginial founders of the US did; secede from an opppressive government.
Thanks to Lincoln we can now all enjoy being slaves to the US government.
Published: April 10, 2009 2:07 PM
Jason Gordon
geoih, learn some Latin.
Regarding Lincoln's war: "non facias malum ut inde fiat bonum"
Regarding Conferate secession: "abusus non tollit usum"
Published: April 10, 2009 2:08 PM
Robert Hensley
Bryan said: "The Ludwig Von Mises Insitute does a lot of good when it sticks to discussions of economic policies. Whenever the Mises Institute ventures into a political discussion it negates the good it does educating people about economics."
- I tend to agree. And I didn't appreciate the crappy comments about Iwo Jima, either. Sounds a lot like the "Blame America for the World's Problems" tour that Obama just went on. Who knew we were just a bunch of "invaders"? It's a lot easier to talk smack on a blog than actually put your butt on the line for something you believe in. But perhaps we could all just let things alone in the world and everyone will love us. What's that? You'll have to excuse me while I go listen to "Kum Ba Ya" playing on the radio.
Published: April 10, 2009 3:07 PM
Enjoy Every Sandwich
@Robert Hensley: "... than actually put your butt on the line for something you believe in."
I have. So excuse me if your emotional rant does not move me.
Of course, if you have an actual argument I'm sure we'll all be very interested to see it.
Published: April 10, 2009 3:15 PM
Robert Hensley
Sandwich,
Good for you. And perhaps, as a veteran, the Iwa Jima comment, "Some are under the illusion that this memorial praising the United States' offensive invasion force was a memorial for those defending the country. Fortunately the memorial brilliantly lists practically every country the US military has ever invaded, etched around the sides" touched a raw nerve.
That's not to say that the chickens***t Europeans don't need to pull their own weight, and I'm all for pulling out of South Korea (the ROKs can defend themselves) But at the same time, I don't think that ignoring defense and the problems of the world will make us safer. 9/11 wasn't planned in a day.
Published: April 10, 2009 3:34 PM
Mac
Washington, The Imperial City....
Many have heard it, I included, and never thought much of it. But I have to acknowledge that the buildings and their inscriptions make it irrefutable.
Especially the IRS. Taxes are the price we pay for the ruling parties to leave us alone -- temporarily, while they bother others.
Don't ya'll agree?
Published: April 10, 2009 3:55 PM
Enjoy Every Sandwich
Robert,
No...the remarks about the Iwo Jima memorial don't "touch a raw nerve" in me, even though I am a veteran and my father was a Marine in WW2.
Being a veteran does not mean that I turn my brain off and let my emotions rule me when I evaluate the U.S. government or its institutions, even if I've served in them myself (in my case the U.S. Navy). If anything, having seen it from the inside makes me less inclined to view it through the prism of mindless patriotism.
As an example, I can't help but roll my eyes when I hear some fool declare that if we hadn't jumped into WW1 "we'd all be speaking German now". To be so abysmally ignorant does not honor our nation or our military.
Published: April 10, 2009 6:38 PM
dewind
War promotes nationalism, nationalism promotes hyper sensitivity to criticism of wars or government institutions.
These criticisms, like the ones in this article, do not negate or diminish the sacrifices made by those who were conscripted or volunteered for war. It criticizes those institutions that had these men sacrifice their lives and forfeit their freedom.
Published: April 10, 2009 7:10 PM
Samuel
So, how hard would it be to set up an annual DC Reality Tour?
I'm interested - especially if it includes those receptions ;)
Published: April 10, 2009 9:15 PM
C. Evans
Perhaps it would help if people could separate the American people from its government. I do blame the American government for just about everything. I believe that it, like all governments, are inherently and innately evil. The US Federal Government does not exist to protect the American people. Like all States, the US government exists as a medium of exploitation. It divides the people into two groups-the exploiters and the exploited. Both Bush and Obama have pulled off probably the greatest broad daylight robbery of the American people ever. This could only happen because there exists a massive Leviathan with the ability to tax and counterfeit the funds necessary. If this is called protection, I would much rather have mob rule. I would stand a better chance at protecting my wealth in such circumstances.
If the statists/nationalists who have appeared recently as commenters on this would confess to their idolatry of the State, we would at least know where we stand. However, this conflation of the American people and the American government must cease immediately. If you statists disagree with us radicals because you idolize the US government, then say that. But stop hiding behind the "Blame America" meme. Our disgust is aimed where it should be-at the murderers and robbers composing the State.
Published: April 10, 2009 9:52 PM
Steve Hogan
What? Not one mention of the Federal Reserve? That should be the first stop on the tour. Once the visitors understand the unmitigated evil that transpires within its confines, the rest of the tour falls nicely into place.
As for Bryan and his laughable public school rendition of the Civil War, I suggest a tutoring session or two with Tom DiLorenzo. Goodness, Bryan, you are thoroughly brainwashed!
Published: April 10, 2009 11:30 PM
Joel E. Roger
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/9582/jollyfedpc1.jpg
Published: April 10, 2009 11:53 PM
Garoad
I live in the DC area (unfortunately) and I'd take that tour in a second!
Fed may not have been mentioned because DC doesn't have one of the 12 "banks", there is the "Eccles Building" HQ though. Maybe that should be added, I don't think it's too far from the IRS criminal HQ.
Published: April 11, 2009 12:39 AM
Wilhlem Raschke
This is pure genius! This needs to get going again. I actually think the audience for this would be larger than we expect. What a great way to take the fight to them. I'd gladly participate.
Published: April 11, 2009 11:37 AM
EotS
Tim Kern - "In 1998, I visited again, this time with a group of my high school students. We were blocked from entering many buildings. Enormous concrete flowerpots and military vehicle barriers prevented anyone from staging vehicular attacks on the groups of rulers protected within."
Check out this post - I got some pictures of the Capitol building the last time I was there:
http://www.ultimateminority.com/?p=79
I was surprised there wasn't a stop at the Fed building as well, a glaring omission from a Mises Institute post. (Loved the Jolly Roger pic btw.)
Published: April 12, 2009 9:04 AM
Jack's Pipe
Perhaps one might also have an extended tour to take people through the 75 (?) miles of suburbs filled with gov't workers just to show the size of the state. At some point it seems like Virginia and Maryland may be nothing but federal government workers and those there to lobby them.
But I think things will collapse before that.
Published: April 13, 2009 12:27 AM
geoih
I'm not sure where I was defending Lincoln. I was pointing out the flaws in using the South's secession as some sort of grand argument for libertarianism. You're essentially trying to use an "it's none of my business" argument to convince people who tend to think everything is their business (i.e., socialists, progressives, Republicans, etc.). Using a situation that is so closely tied to slavery is not going to have much success in changing many minds.
Published: April 13, 2009 5:47 AM
David K. Meller
An excellent idea! If there is time, however, I would add a visit on the tour to where the Imperial city disposes of its paper. Surely paper garbage is produced by the thousands (if not millions) of tons by the sundry bureaucracies there, and seeing what is done with it would give everyone a perfect idea of exactly what GARBAGE "our" government is.
If one considers all the garbage that government produces--at taxpayers' expense--there is certainly the likelihood that the reality check offered by the tour would be enhanced considerably.
That would be a perfect completion to a tour of the Imperial city a.k.a. Nuthouse on the Patomac a.k.a. District of Criminals that Washington DC can offer thinking Americans.
PEACE AND FREEDOM!!
David K. Meller
Published: April 14, 2009 10:45 AM