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Health & Fitness

Land of the Free

A trip to our Nation's capital reminds me of how fortunate we are to be able to express ourselves, freely. But that freedom brings a responsibility to be tolerant of differing opinions

This summer my husband and I took a trip to Washington D.C. with our two adult children. 

We are all huge history buffs and there’s no better place for history buffs to vacation than the nation’s capital. Okay, those of you who have blanched at the words “history buff” can stop reading. I don’t want to be responsible for your gagging in public.

For those of you who are still with me, I would love to focus on the many great things we learned and saw during the trip, but this blog could never do it justice. So instead, I’ll share a generational moment that occurred between my twenty something children and their Baby Boomer parents. I think of it as their “Wow, Mom and Dad are old,” and our “I can’t believe they don’t get it” moment.

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We were walking through the Presidential Portrait Gallery. Now, if you have never been to the Gallery, I really need to help paint a picture in your mind of the solemnity of this particular slice of Washington. Each President, from George Washington to George W. Bush, is honored in a painted portrait. As you walk through the gallery and glance at the portraits hanging on the wall, you’ll come to the conclusion that the portraits were painted with the intent of presenting a dignified snapshot of the men who served in this office.  It’s hard to walk through the gallery and not feel awe inspired.

So here you are walking among these stoic images of great men (well, I’ll leave that distinction up to you to decide) when you come to the gallery of the 90’s. First, you’ll see George W. Bush, sitting on a sofa at his ranch in Texas in a button down wearing his trademark grin. As you turn away from George H.W. Bush, captured leaning against the Oval Office desk, you’ll suddenly notice a portrait on the opposite end of the gallery that spans the full length of the wall, from top to bottom. It’s important to say that up to this point, no portrait has taken up more than one third of the wall.  

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Considering the era, you’ve probably figured out by now which Presidential portrait takes up this massive wall.

Those of you that guessed the 42nd President, William Jefferson Clinton, give yourselves a star. But wait it gets better. This portrait is unique for more than just its size. The portrait is a combination of small silver tiles, each containing a smaller head shot of Mr. Clinton. All of these tiles are then grouped together to form a giant image of his head. 

It’s a floor to ceiling portrait of Bill Clinton: hundreds of times over.

Here’s where the generation gap story comes to life. As my husband and I stand in front of the roped off portrait (maybe they are afraid someone will mistake it for a billboard and be tempted to paint graffiti over it), we look at each other and just mouth “OMG."  How could he do this to a Presidential portrait?

Our kids, bringing up the rear, glance at it and instantly break out in a huge smile. They shake their heads and exit the gallery chuckling.

My husband and I didn’t exit chuckling. We both wanted to find the nearest receptacle and up chuck!

By now you can probably guess neither of us is a big fan of Bill Clinton. My kids, obviously, think we are taking this all way too seriously. Our walk out of the National Portrait Gallery Museum was accompanied by a very lively conversation about this portrait.

My husband and I maintained the position that the portrait should not have been allowed in the same universe, much less the same room as the others. Those portraits had an air of dignity; portraying respectful tributes to the office itself.  

Now, let me say this before I hear from those who think I am criticizing the work of art itself. I have nothing against the portrait as a work of art. It was truly original and very creative. This was art. The problem was where it was displayed. It just did not belong in the Portrait Gallery. Since our understanding is the Presidents have a hand in selecting their portraits, this was one more insult courtesy of Bill Clinton.

Our kids, on the other hand were amused by it, but more so by our reaction.

Their position can be summed up quite nicely by my son:  “Clinton is the strange uncle that everyone puts up with during the holidays for the sake of family harmony. There’s nothing you can do about it so why waste time on it.”

To our kids, this was just an expression by Clinton and an artist. Nothing more. Nothing less. They understood our point but they thought we were making way too much of it.

We traded views as we walked the streets of Washington D.C., ultimately coming to respect each others' positions. 

In Washington, I stuck to my opinion stubbornly. But writing this blog made me do some soul searching. In my rush to judgment, I was missing the point: the right to be able to express ourselves (even in the Portrait Gallery) is one of the reasons that this nation was created.

This country was created because of our differences and the challenge of a democracy is to work through these differences, remaining one nation.

Thought to self...Stop. Think it over. Rewrite.

I saw this really unusual portrait of Bill Clinton in the National Portrait Gallery...

If these twenty something kids and their Baby Boomer parents can accept each other’s opinion, and still carry on as a family, maybe there’s hope for our politicians in Washington. 

Think I should share this blog with them?

Maybe it would remind them to work out their differences in the best interests of the rest of us.

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