I love protests.
We had our first Friday class today, which was merely a matter of her handing out the syllabus, and thus inconsequential and non-blog-worthy.
However, afterwards, we went to Supreme Court building, which is BEAUTIFUL. It’s one of the few buildings I’ve never visited, and it might be my favorite. It’s relatively new (completed in 1935 or so) but gorgeously Greco-Roman and marbley and truly lovely.
The building in question
We went on the tour inside of the actual hearing room (or whatever they call it…where the lawyers argue and the Supreme Court sits to listen). No pictures allowed in there, but still very cool.
Gorgeous marble hallways. All of the bright white marble was American-harvested
However, what was more interesting (though significantly less beautiful) than the Supreme Court was what was going on just outside. The Supreme Court building is just across the street from the eastern lawn of the Capitol, where a bunch of protestors had just gathered while we were inside. Devoted as they were on such a chilly January afternoon, they apparently were not interested in getting up before noon. These are my kind of people.
After a few moments of inquiry, it became clear why they were there: tomorrow being the two-year anniversary of the Citizens United case, these protestors were voicing their discontent that corporations have near unlimited ability to fund elections and effectively direct what is increasingly becoming a “democracy” in name only. Sigh. Still, it’s always encouraging to see citizens stand up for what they think is right against what is wrong, braving the wind and illustrating that not only do some Americans still care about this country, they are willing to exercise all of their rights to defend it in whatever small way that they can.
Civil disobedience, nestled between the Capitol and the Supreme Court building
But then a guy with a megaphone appeared and started singing a song about birth certificates. This is when we chose to leave.
Ah, protestors.
politics and other shenanigans 