“You are under no obligation to be the same person you were five minutes ago.” ~ Alan Watts
This was one of the most interesting days I think I’ve ever had. Armed with handouts and a game plan, we went to The Hill and began lobbying for Humanities education through the National Humanities Alliance. Our first stop was Rand Paul’s (R) office, followed by Hal Rogers (R) (office above – what a view!), Andy Barr (R), Morgan McGarvey (D), and Mitch McConnell (R). McGarvey is the only one to meet us in person. We first met with his great Legislative Correspondent, Jonathan Kamanta, below left, and then, lo and behold, Morgan appeared. It turned out that our U of L colleague Mary Sheridan’s son used to campaign for Morgan. He’s been in office for eight months and represents Kentucky’s 3rd District, where Louisville resides. We were not just impressed with his kindness, but even if we had never met him, I’m not sure I can accurately describe the stark difference between his office and staff and the offices of the other public servants. For example, all offices but McGarvey’s had Fox News playing on wide-screen TVs in their lobbies. The receptionists and Legislative Correspondents like Jonathan were all kind to us, though. At one point, we went to the Senate peanut gallery (visitor’s gallery), where we observed Senators casting votes for a judge in Illinois. We were there for the Republican voting and caught glimpses of Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and Markwayne Mullin (they all voted no, by the way). Saw Joe Manchin, too, the only Democrat I recognized (he voted yes, as you might expect). It was surprisingly boring. I assumed they voted all in one room, but no. They’d wander in, give a thumbs up or down, then meander out a different door. Then you’d wait an indeterminate amount of time before another vote walked through the door. It was a strange ritual and not at all time-efficient. No wonder the country can’t get anything done. They can’t even vote in a timely fashion. We were not allowed our phones or cameras, so I don’t have any photos from that little experience. Nevertheless, this was a really insightful day, if for no other reason than we were all over the Capital, through the tunnels and outside. Our nation’s capital is architecturally stunning, our system of government, broken as it is, is still something of wonder, at least for now, and our public servants, which includes the Capital Police, have heavy loads to bear. It was an honor to represent the humanities, and it was an honor to do so with Catherine and Mary. We made a good team. I’d do it again.
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