Graham's Washington, A Reflection

It is said that history is cyclical, so that we move along only to loop back to similar circumstances. It is also said that our present is a product of our history. The first view is simultaneously claustrophobic and comfortable, as we are seemingly restricted to one cycle of events, but we have the tools of the past available to fix kinks in our present, and we can move forward with a sense of what lies ahead. The second is more frightening, as we would then find ourselves in a unique situation in time, with too little help from the past, and no discernible knowledge of what lies ahead. Even so, I prefer the second, as the notion that we are responsible for shaping our future gives me hope that progress is to be had.

Marquis Childs in “Washington is a State of Mind,” and Robert Kaiser in “Same Place, Different Frenzy,” both attest, whether directly or not, and not necessarily because it is the more valorous view, that times change, or at least that we must believe they can. A passage in Childs’ piece describes the stagnant nature of government: “A boring, even a superficial boring, will bring up bureaucrats and functionaries…who are going through their appointed rounds with a firm determination to ignore the present. Fussy little men go on making familiar motions, repeating rituals of government as though in so doing they could exorcise the awful threat of change.” As our history has demonstrated, though, if we demand progress and change, that is what we will be served. Kaiser talked about the 1960’s, a period of radical demonstrations, active government, and fairer deals. He talked about his role during this time of divisiveness when he sporadically joined picket lines, remembering “how heroic [they] all felt at the time, standing up for what was Right.” Washington is truly dependent on our mindsets, as it is what we make of it.

As the restless, ambitious, educated youth of our generation, we have an indubitable responsibility to believe in the power of progress, and that the government can provide this. Increasing economic polarization, discrimination, crumbling markets, soldiers killed in wars, unemployment, global warming, the need for alternative energies, corruption in government. These are the cards that we have been dealt. Perhaps I am more aware of these issues living in D.C., but we are at a precarious and difficult moment in history. Unfortunately, the “fussy little men” in government appear to be involved in an endless game of roulette, where the ball moves backwards, time inevitably goes on and the prospects for winning are slim. Washington D.C. and the government can only be saviors when the people in it dedicate themselves to progress, whether as Kaiser did behind the picket fence or as un-fussy men and women in government.