5 Sides to Remember

What has five sides, more than 26,000 employees, enough telephone wire to encircle the globe twice and more secrets than your ex-girlfriend or -boyfriend?

If you’re traveling into D.C. on the Yellow or Blue lines, you hear its name on the muffled Metro speakers everyday. “Next stop Pentagon, doors opening left side.” Yes, I have the Metro memorized. The daily rock and swaying action of the train along with those melodious conductor voices are synonymous to lullabies in a crib, but everyday PENTAGON stands out.

I’ve gained what I would describe as a global perspective in the last few years. I was lucky enough to spend a summer in Chile, hop over to Argentina, take a politics trip into Mexico, work in Costa Rica and travel to Nicaragua. During those experiences the immensity of the world and the ranges of lifestyles people have in other countries were impressed upon me. So now, when I ride by the Pentagon everyday, I often think of the enormous significance of this single spot on the globe.

The headquarters of the United States Department of Defense…. The headquarters of the most significant military force the world has ever known…. The figurative spinal cord of the nation that has often laid claim to a responsibility to protect the rest of the world from the wrongdoings of murderous dictators and malicious military regimes alike.

This Tuesday I stopped in that very building for a Washington Center tour. As with many other local hotspots, certain sections of the building are closed off to public access, but just being inside was quite an experience. The tour was lead by the type of guide you would expect to find at the Pentagon. With a 6' 6'' linebacker build, the immaculately uniformed officer had a voice so booming it would knock any pretentious public speaking professor on his heels.

We stopped to ponder famous paintings of such moments as the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. We passed along a chronological history of some of America’s most prominent military operations. We listened to explanations of glass-protected documents that represent longstanding peace treaties with countries like New Zealand and Canada.

Toward the end of the tour we went to the side of the Pentagon where Flight 77 crashed. Our tour guide gave an account of the events of 9/11, and we spent some time in silence before we read the stories of those who passed that day. It was another one of those Washington, D.C. experiences that I will never forget.

My roommate shook hands with President Bush today. We both were there to hear the Dalai Lama speak at the Capitol.

More to come next week,

Ian J. Warner