Like this:

If you spend the summer here, check out the fireworks on the Mall on the 4th.  We got a spot next to the Washington Monument to watch the fireworks which are set off from the reflecting pool.  The National Mall was an absolute zoo (although nothing compared to New Year’s Eve on the Strip in Vegas), but surprisingly things remained rather orderly.  I really have to give credit to all the organizers…it was all very well put together.  It was an absolutely beautiful night to boot.  Hard to imagine being in a better place for Independence Day (I’m sure the people in Philadelphia will tell you otherwise, but since nobody from Pennsylvania reads this blog I know I don’t have to worry about offending them.)

Too often we forget what the 4th of July – Independence Day – is really about, and why it remains important.  America isn’t America just because we showed those Redcoats who’s boss by brewing the world’s largest pitcher of sun tea in Boston Harbor.  It isn’t just because we changed chips to fries, lifts to elevators, and queues to lines.  It isn’t because we introduced modern dentistry to the world (trust us, England – dental hygiene is totally sweet.  Check it out sometime).  It isn’t just because we invented Lance Armstrong.  It’s because of all of those things.  (BTW, the Tour de France is on right now, go Lance).

In all seriousness, being in DC, on the Mall in particular, makes you remember at least some of the reasons that we’re here.  The Capitol, the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, the White House, the Vietnam Memorial…all of these can be seen from various points on the Mall.  All of them reflect some of the major accomplishments and great achievements, and some reflect the darker chapters of our nation’s history as well, but all are critical in understanding how we got to this point today.

The Founders created something special, a democratic republic the likes of which had never been seen before, and may never be seen again.  They fought on principles of independence, liberty, and equality, the true meanings of which not even they fully understood.  They fought to make progress towards what we have today, and even though it isn’t perfect, it’s certainly better than it was.  Just reading the Constitution and the letters from the Convention give me shivers sometimes – it is absolutely mindblowing just how smart these men were.  I sincerely hope that we have not seen the end of people like the Founders.  They created institutions that still stand as the keystones of our national framework.  James Madison was a central figure in designing an entire nation when he was about my age, and my biggest accomplishment so far is typing some preposterous, rambling 4th of July post on a blog.  Point: Madison, by a hair.

I think the true monuments in DC, the ones that immortalize the work of Founding Fathers, are the Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the White House.  Though their roles have adjusted over the years, and physically they may be in newer or redesigned buildings, the institutions that the Founders designed still stand as testaments to their ingenuity.  It’s pretty surreal to visit DC and think about all that’s gone on in this small little piece of unbearably humid swampland over the past 233 years, and it’s even more surreal to work in a building where a lot of it went down.

Moral of the story: America rules.  Happy birthday.

Sorry for the rambling, it’s late.  Here are some pretty pictures.

Patriotic indeed.

DC is pretty scenic at night. Definitely do a monuments tour after dark - it's awesome.

Even more beautiful at night.

Fountain at the Capitol Visitor Center.

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