Freedom Flows from the Barrel of a Gun

Perhaps this is a story better suited for da fearmonger, unfortunately though, the following actually happened.

At her request, I took my daughter to our nation's capitol in order that she could see the places she is being taught about in school. She has a longstanding interest in architecture, and for reasons know only to her, a particular fancy for domes. I therefore made the United States Capitol building one of our destinations.

Unfortunately, the Capitol building was closed pending the funeral of Gerald Ford. So, if we couldn't see the building from the inside, at least we could view the outside. We hadn't come to the political centroid of our fine republic to not see it.

That day, we both got an interesting civics lesson. Our approach to the building was blocked by barricades; I understand that just as the building closure was to protect the congress and visiting dignitaries, so might be the barricades. All this time I'd been dutifully taking pictures of the building itself. I next noticed the fine, young, Keanu Reeves wannabe pictured here. I figured this too was part of the funerary plans until one of my fellow citizens asked Keanu-oid who replied that this was his standing, ordinary post. I was surprised.


When I see surprising things in public, open spaces and have a camera in my hand, my temptation is to photograph it. Immediately after my shutter clicked, Keanu-boy barked "NO PICTURES!" at me. Perhaps I'm not as confident as some might be whilst facing a uniformed officer with a shotgun, but despite my strong belief in government by and for the people, I felt I ought not question K-boy. Fortunately, he didn't demand that I delete the photo I had taken, nor did I feel at liberty to get a better angle. I was left with some questions unanswered.

When has the right of the people to record what stands on a public street at the seat of our government been revoked? When has the former focus of Liberty become redolent of a police state? Why does the District of Columbia look more like Beirut than the homeland of Justice? Why have we allowed this to be done to us? Would I have been shot had I lifted the camera to my eye? I might have asked these questions of an officer with a holstered weapon, but armed and brandishing doesn't afford the same dialog.

I'd have to call the preceding scene ironic after-the-fact. The cabbie who drove us to the Capitol building was a recent immigrant from Afghanistan; our conversation drifted from Ford's high world stature to the driver's contempt for the Bush the Younger. Surpisingly, the driver's irritation was that Bush hadn't killed more in his mother country but instead moved onto Iraq with unfinished business. I am pleased to live in a nation where an immigrant can make such statements about the commander-in-chief. I'm sure the driver is even happier that I wasn't a government informant.