Congress' Godless Shrine

While we were in Washington last week we took a look at the new Capitol Visitor Center which rests entirely underground in front of the majestic U. S. Capitol.

The Visitor Center opened three years late and anywhere between $350 to $500 million over budget. When you start to approach a half-a-billion dollars over budget, you begin to lose count.

It's nice that visitors to the U. S. capitol now have spacious. modern restrooms; a place to rest their weary feet; a large, well-stocked cafeteria/restaurant; plentiful exhibits and art facts and a new wide-screen movie to welcome them to Congress.

And, as cranky, crusty old Harry Reid said: "Now, we don't have to smell the tourists." Well, we don't have to smell you, either, Harry! So now we're equal.

The movie is hopelessly homogenized and just this side of bland. I had to laugh when I noticed that no members of Congress were shown in the movie in any way that would make them identifiable. I suppose egos prevented it. If one member was shown, then all would require the same treatment - that's all 435 of them! Also, I suppose that would have dated the movie. But, hey -- Senator Byrd intends to be in Congress forever, so they could have shown him. And there are a lot of other members who feel they are immortal and they have no intention of ever vacating their offices.

As for the Vistors Center, I suppose it's worth a visit. But just keep in mind the observations of Senator Jim DeMint. Here's what he said:

The Capitol Visitor Center is designed to tell the history and purpose of our nation's Capitol, but it fails to appropriately honor our religious heritage that has been critical to America’s success. While the Architect of the Capitol has pledged to include some references to faith, more needs to be done. You cannot accurately tell the history of America or its Capitol by ignoring the religious heritage of our Founders and the generations since who relied on their faith for strength and guidance. The millions of visitors that will visit the CVC each year should get a true portrayal of the motivations and inspirations of those who have served in Congress since its establishment.
The current CVC displays are left-leaning and in some cases distort our true history. Exhibits portray the federal government as the fulfillment of human ambition and the answer to all of society’s problems. This is a clear departure from acknowledging that Americans’ rights "are endowed by their Creator" and stem from "a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence." Instead, the CVC’s most prominent display proclaims faith not in God, but in government. Visitors will enter reading a large engraving that states, "We have built no temple but the Capitol. We consult no common oracle but the Constitution." This is an intentional misrepresentation of our nation’s real history, and an offensive refusal to honor America's God-given blessings...
The fundamental principles of the freedom we enjoy in this country stem from our Founding Fathers’ beliefs in a higher power, beliefs put forth in the Declaration of Independence and manifest throughout our Constitution. If we cease to acknowledge this fact, we may cease to enjoy some of the freedoms we take for granted. We must not censor historical references to God for the sake of political correctness. And we must truthfully represent the limited form of government the Constitution lays out so that our "government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth." So help us God.