DC Memorials and Thoughts on Technology

Last week I was in Washington, DC for my union's annual Legislative Conference. On Monday afternoon we had some time to spare, and so with a few of my friends we went to see some memorials. There is something awe inspiring in seeing the Washington Monument reflected in the reflecting pool from the Lincoln Memorial. Oh wait, it was being worked on.

Has anyone paid much attention to the marble at the top of the steps to the Lincoln Memorial? It's a reminder that Martin Luther King, Jr. stood there and delivered his I Have a Dream speech. And as a trade unionist, it is worthy to recognize that he made that not only for civil rights but for jobs.

We went to The Wall as well. My uncle, Ronald W. Montgomery is on that wall. My father came home but my uncle did not. Every year I visit and every year I am overcome with emotion.

We also went to the FDR Memorial. My first visit was in the summer of 2009. In all my trips to DC I had never visited. THAT was a mistake. The quotes along the walls should be read by everyone. Particularly incoming Freshman members of Congress as well as any Trade Unionist. People just don't talk like that anymore - and we should.

We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred is a wedge designed to attack our civilization.

 They who select to establish systems of government based on the regimentation of all human beings by a handful of individual rulers call this a new order. This is not new and it is not order.

We have faith that future generations will know that here, in the middle of the twentieth century, there came a time when men of good will found a way to unite, and produce, and fight to destroy the forces of ignorance and intolerance, and slavery, and war.


I just wanted to share some of the beauty I was able to experience. While it technically doesn't have a thing to do with Instructional Technology... I was taking those pictures with my phone and uploading them immediately to my Facebook page. I wanted my FB friends to experience it right along with me. It's only been in the last couple of years that I was able to do that. It's amazing how far technology has brought us. The world is infinitely smaller as a result of our increased technology.