It's kind of sad to see the state of downtown. Yesterday the National Park Service closed the entire National Mall and its monuments after conferring with the National Guard, Secret Service, and other agencies that have been entrusted with providing security for the presidential inauguration next Wednesday. After the storming of the Capitol, DC isn't messing around. The mayor has been having daily press conferences to say that this year's inauguration should be enjoyed exclusively from home.
This leaves DC with a National Mall that is completely enclosed within tall barricade fences to keep out pedestrians and road closures that are three blocks deep in some locations. Some places have razor wire. Arlington National Cemetery and behind the Lincoln Memorial were a bit grim and tense this morning. Some areas of the cemetery are off limits until next Thursday, understandably.
When it became clear that there was not much to see even from the hilltop vantage of Arlington House, I drove over to a Capitol Hill neighborhood to see what "regular" life looks like for residents right now. There were plenty of people taking their dogs for a walk or doing some shopping but then I came across the barricades that run behind the Library of Congress and several photographers with press passes walking around. There are estimated over 20,000 members of the National Guard around and their presence is not something that you usually see in American cities. I hate to say it: It feels like we're letting the terrorists win just a little bit.
1 comment:
It is so sad to see this space sacred to the soul of our nation shuttered.
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