Boldly Go - DC, Space Shuttle, Einstein, and the Holocaust

Its been far too long since I wrote in this Blog.  Far too long.  Last week I went with my wife, kids, and some friends to Washington DC.  We saw the national Mall, and all the memorials, monuments, and Smithsonian museums on the tourist list.  Our congressman's office was kind enough to arrange a private tour of the Capitol building by one of the interns.  It was impressive, tour, and nice way to see this historic site. 

For me though there were a few true high points in the trip - and an unexpected figure who seemed to turn up in a number of places.

The unexpected figure, is none other than Albert Einstein, a particular idol of my eldest daughter, and a man who had more influence over the course of history than many might ever realize.

We planned to seek out the great statue of Einstein at the memorial at the National Academy of Sciences, which we did.  The statue is impressive.

We also visited the International Spy Museum, where we found some very interesting correspondence between Einstein and FDR:

Naturally, Einstein was present at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, where the planetarium bears his name.  My daughter got an Einstein hat there, as it was the souvenir from the trip that was perfectly suited to her.  But the interesting thing we saw there, was not Einstein, but instead the Attorney General, White House Chief of Staff, Miss America, and TV's Carla Hall, present to read the Astronaut Handbook to school children.

Einstein's presence was also felt at the National Holocaust Museum, where correspondence to FDR and profound statements on the Holocaust are on display.  The Holocaust museum is an incredibly humbling experience, about the darkest of times in human history.  Every person should experience this museum, and learn from it.  The horrors that came to pass as a result of the Nazi agenda of genocide and hate must never be allowed to pass again. To those who continue to insist there was no Holocaust, you are wrong.  Further, even at the time, there were those who were expected that some day people would say it never happened. 

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It says:“The things I saw beggar description…The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering…I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in a position to give first hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations to propaganda.”

How right he was. 

As I toured the museum, and was reminded of the Nazi propaganda of the 1930's and 40's blaming the Jews for all the ills of the world, I was saddened as I realized the parallels forming today with a group of from the far right, and the agenda they pursue against Homosexuals.  its a slippery slope people.  The ride from disapproval, to hate, to persecution is shorter than you might imagine.  History teaches us this.  We need not repeat history if we have the wisdom to learn from it.  When the cost of the lesson was in excess of 6 million innocent lives, we had better learn.  Its not enough to believe we are better than we were a century ago: we must actually BE better than we were a century ago.

I know I must return to this museum again someday, and experience it again with my wife.  This trip we split up, each with one of the kids in tow, teaching them what we could, and shielding them from what we had to.  At 10 and 7, some of the sites are a bit much.  At 42 some of the sites are a bit much - but those who perished and endured those horrors have certainly earned my tears.

As the week drew to a close, we saw more of the city.  Another touching experience as we visited the National Archives, and saw the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.  Old and barely legible after almost two and a half centuries, the power of these documents have not diminished.  No treasure maps on the back of the Declaration, but plenty of jokes about that fun movie. 

The profound wisdom of our Constitution followed us through the city, and later in the week at the Jefferson Memorial I was reminded of the answer to many of the challenges we face today, and how so many politicians point to the Founding Fathers for their intentions and answers.  Jefferson has the answers you seek:

 

Our journey through the nations Capital city ended outside the city, at the Udvar-Hazy center.  Home of the Space Shuttle Discovery, and many wonderful historic aircraft.  The Space Shuttle Discovery is the first picture in this post.  I'll write more about it, and my love affair with the Space Shuttle in a day or two.  Its one of the other interesting historic aircraft, and the ironic return of our Friend Albert Einstein I turn to now.  Present in this museum through the historic aircraft the Enola Gay, which ended the war in the Pacific in WWII, and unleashed upon the world the horrors of Nulcear war, and began the atomic age,.  A result of Dr. Einsteins most well know work. 

To Boldly Go forward into the future, we must embrace and learn from our past.  It was wonderful to spend the last week doing just that.  The past lends perspective.  I'll close out this post, with some profound words I found outside the National Archive:

WHAT IS PAST IS PROLOGUE

Lets turn our attention to the future - lets Boldly Go!