National Archive: What is Past Is Prologue

by admin on June 1st, 2010

There seems to be an endless list of things to do and see in Washington D.C. however when I was there recently I decided that there were really only two things I wanted to visit. One was capitol hill (although this was a Saturday so we could not watch any debates) and the other was the National Archive. The National Archive is the home of the Constitution, Deceleration of indepencence, as well as numerous other documents from American history. The reason that I wanted to come here was that I have recently had a political rebirth and decided that to better understand where our coutry was going, I had to study how we got to where we are. The present is merely the result of billions of different actions and reactions, and in order to build a better future this idea must always be kept in mind. Outside the National Archive, there are four statues each with a different quote on them; Heritage, Guardianship, The Future, and The Past. Each contains a quote, and my favorite occurs on “The Future” statue by Architect John Russell Pope, and has a quote from Shakespeare’s play The Tempest: “What is Past is Prologue.” Something we should all remember when we are making decisions today, the effects of which may unknowingly ripple through time, and when the day comes what side of history do you wish to be on?