A few years ago, Alex and I drove the I-95 from New Hampshire through New York City to Washington, D.C. It was my first time in a part of the world that looms large in my cultural and political subconsciousness; seeing symbol after symbol come to life in front of me was dizzying.

The vertigo struck most powerfully outside the Capitol, home of both houses of Congress and backdrop to countless movie and TV shots, not to mention news footage. But television can’t prepare you for the impact of the building itself: immense, imposing, overwhelming and — on a day as hot and sunny as that one — blindingly white.

For all of my frustration with the American political system, for all of the damage caused by the policies ratified inside those chambers, I came away with one overriding thought: that this was a building created by people who truly believed in the ideals of freedom and democracy — even if their imaginations didn’t yet encompass their full implications. The Capitol is a monument to self-determination, liberty and justice.

Apache helicopters roared continuously over the Potomac during our visit, a reminder that it had been less than a year since the scarring attacks of 9/11; an intimation of the coming war on Iraq; and a suggestion of just how crucial it is to ensure the Capitol is a living monument to those ideals, and not a museum.

To my American friends, a happy Fourth of July.