Seeing the Sights

It is easy to get lost in Washington, DC. On the road, traffic is congested, drivers are impatient and signage, well…sucks. Even while on foot, I am embarrassed to admit, I still get lost in my office building. This week I traveled to the Senate side of the Capitol Complex on several occasions to listen to public comment – that meant riding the elevator to the sub-basement, hitching a ride on the underground subway and winding my way through the Capitol building to find more tunnels. Despite maps, it’s not as easy as one might think.

However, disorientation aside, I attempt to soak in the sights along the way. In the tunnels, flags and seals from each of the 50 states (Wisconsin’s is best, in my opinion) line the walls, and dozens of imposing stone statues inhabit the Capitol. Actually, some of those frozen replicas are a bit creepy, but that’s another blog post…

Despite inadequate official signage, landmarks abound throughout Washington – so many that even the directionally challenged could mark a path.

Recently my family and I walked beneath the reverent United States Air Force Memorial. That’s a landmark you can view for miles. We’ve also seen the Washington Monument, the White House and much of the Smithsonian up close. My personal favorite is the Lincoln Memorial – just a walk down the National Mall from my office.

Unfortunately, not all the DC sights are spectacular in nature.

My daily commute into work involves a 15-minute bus ride followed by a 30-minute train ride which lets out at 3rd and D street right near my office, and my guilty pleasure – Starbucks.

One particularly frigid day this spring, a man stood outside holding the door. He wore a tattered coat, had a trash bag of belongings at his feet and held out a plastic cup. I shivered as I hustled inside, murmuring a thank you and prepared to pay for my two dollar coffee. I couldn’t help but feel guilty. I gave this man a dollar as I walked out. And he was back again the next day. And the following.

Indeed, in downtown DC, a homeless person is literally a sight on every block. In some parks you will see dozens. Living here for any period of time, I sense it is difficult to not become jaded. Difficult to not simply look away. It is also hard to know how to help. After all, does a dollar accomplish anything?

The House Committee on Education and Labor where I work is perhaps one of the most influential entrees to public policy on social issues in our Capital – in our country. Often, when there is a movement to formulate policy to improve conditions for individuals in our society who live outside anyone’s expectation of dignity, this Committee and its Members consider a piece of it.

However, to be honest, the reports, calls and e-mails I receive from advocates in the disability community and elsewhere convince me there are simply too many tragic problems in this world, in this country, for any one committee or Congressman to fix.

Take for instance a recent New York Times article. It reports that although the state of Nebraska made headlines last year as parents sought safe harbor for their mentally ill children at hospitals, the state’s resources continue to be inadequate. Desperate or ill-equipped parents have absolutely nowhere to turn. I cannot imagine saying goodbye to my child at the state’s doorstep – relinquishing my connection as a mother simply because I had no other options. And yet, no one has found an answer.

What I am also convicted of is individuals -whether homeless, born with a disability, single mother to a mentally ill child - do not deserve to live in sub-human conditions. There may not be an easy fix, but at the very least, we all must know and care that this happens in our country. We cannot afford to look away.

As I take my kids on a ride on the Metro to see the sights, I do not want the homeless person lying in the corner to be the image they remember about our Capital. And yet, it is a sight I do not want them to forget.

Lisa Pugh is the 2009 Kennedy Foundation Public Policy Fellow. She will work on disability public policy for the House Committee on Education and Labor during the 111th Congress and is being sponsored by The Arc Wisconsin. She will live for one year with her family in Washington and return to her home in Madison, Wisconsin to share what she’s learned in January 2010.