A Thought on Landmarks

Some of the things I like most about Washington DC are its monuments, museums, and landmarks. I once heard the Mall described as "a great home court advantage," a space specifically designed to illustrate America's power and to intimidate visiting leaders.

Up until this point I thought the Mall did that job pretty well. But our monuments only have meaning if you have a context for them.

I'm spending the weekend with a good friend who is not American, and although she appreciates the landmarks and monuments because they are striking, she didn't grow up looking at them or learning the history behind them. At first, she didn't readily recognize the White House.

Why would she?