![\"Blossoms](\"http:\/\/www.mikejonesonline.com\/contextjunky\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_5845.jpg\")
<\/a>Blossoms outside the National Museum of American History<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Flowers and the White House<\/p><\/div>\n
I mentioned in my last post some of the things I like and dislike about America, aware at the time that highlighting the polarity of what the country has to offer is something of a clich\u00e9, one often accompanied by Dickens: \u201cIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times\u201d (or, if you prefer, \u201cthe blurst of times\u201d). For something more acerbic, there is always Gore Vidal<\/a>: \u201cThe United States was founded by the brightest people in the country \u2013 and we haven\u2019t seen them since.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign in the National Museum of American History<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s easy to play along, particularly when confronted by signs at the National Museum of American History which proudly state: \u2018Coming Soon … Culture.\u2019 The rest of the joke writes itself; but it\u2019s a cheap shot. Anyone walking through the galleries and seeing Francis Wolff\u2019s sublime photographs from Bluenote recording sessions, or the American Stories on display, or the galleries of African American culture (James Brown\u2019s black 1968 Hammond B-3 Organ was a personal highlight), or the best of the U.S. Presidents would find it hard to deny that some of the peaks this society has produced are high enough to be aspirational for many, here and abroad.<\/p>\n Leaving the worst behind (or at least putting it to one side) perhaps the most conspicuous characteristic is national pride. America does patriotism well, but Washington, D.C. does it best. The National Mall is lined with great monuments, from imposing memorials to Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. to the Washington Monument.<\/p>\n The Washington Monument<\/p><\/div>\n Behind the grand fa\u00e7ades are some extraordinary institutions documenting, preserving and educating the public about the history of the nation. And everywhere the flutter of stars and stripes.<\/p>\n Though many capital cities have something approaching this, I don\u2019t know of any at this scale. What is equally impressive, and sometimes quite moving, is the number of people passionately engaging with their shared history.<\/p>\n The Lincoln Memorial is packed, not (only) with foreign tourists but with Americans of all ages, many of them stopping to read the words of Lincoln\u2019s speeches carved in the walls.<\/p>\n The Lincoln Memorial<\/p><\/div>\n I have seen people genuinely thrilled to find the spot on the steps where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his \u2018I have a dream\u2019 speech. The war memorials attract service people and relatives who, whether proud or full of regret, display a deep connection. There were groups enthralled by the huge, tattered flag at the National Museum of American History, the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key\u2019s \u2018Star Spangled Banner\u2019 in 1814. On a past visit I was excited (and a little amazed) to see the size of the queues waiting to get into the National Archives to file past the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Few archival documents command such reverence and respect.<\/p>\n And there is the Smithsonian Institution, the primary reason I am here. While people call it \u2018the Smithsonian\u2019 it\u2019s far from a monolith, with nineteen museums and a zoo comprised of public exhibition spaces, vast collection stores, research centres, numerous archives, libraries, and more.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>