Opinion: Back from DC and ready to work

I just returned from five days in Washington D.C. and unlike the previous times I traveled there, I wasn’t toting around a big camera bag and a notebook. Between 2006 and 2017 I attended the League of American Bicyclists National Bike Summit nine times. The trips were full of excitement as I joined other bicycling believers on a wave of optimism about the future of transportation in America that was so strong it felt inevitable.

Imagine for a moment what it was like on March 11th, 2010 when former President Barack Obama’s US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood walked into the final gathering party of Summit attendees in a large Senate ballroom, cleared a path to a large desk, then stepped on top of it and exclaimed, “All of the work all of you have been doing for so long has paid huge huge dividends. People get it! People want to live in livable communities. People want streetcars that are made in Portland, Oregon. People want walking paths, biking paths, and opportunities for families to really do the things they do best — which is to hang together and have fun. Thank you!”

While I loved working the Summit and I’ll always remember those moments and the sense of shared purpose with advocates from across Oregon and the nation, it was freeing to not have the physical and mental stress of it looming over me every minute on this trip. (When I worked the Summit it was three days of nonstop work — shooting photos, scribbling notes, listening, talking, writing, editing, then searching for wi-fi and posting everything in real time (which wasn’t common in the era before social media).)

This time around, I could just freely roam the National Mall and appreciate all its glorious art, ideas and artifacts; then soak up all the knowledge I could on Capitol Hill. In addition to spending time in the major museums, we toured the Capitol Building, sat in on a Senate debate, heard a lecture inside the Supreme Court chambers, stopped by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley’s office, and toured the Library of Congress. I’ve always found that travel is the best teacher and throughout the past five days I’ve learned a lot about the history of America, our best and worst moments as a country, and the values our government and our people are supposed to stand for.

I sat in a chair inside Supreme Court chambers and thought about President Trump’s legal exploits while the phrase, “Equal Justice Under the Law” is scrawled across the pediment outside. I visited the Museum of African American History and Culture and thought about how we’ve treated Black people in this country while Trump has pardoned and allied with white supremacists. I walked through the Holocaust Memorial Museum and thought about the rise of fascism in Germany while Trump Advisor Elon Musk tried to turn his Nazi salute into a joke.

Suffice it to say, this trip strengthened my resolve to be an active member of our democracy and fight for what I believe is right.

I’m very concerned about what’s going on in DC right now and what the coming years might bring. But given what I’ve experienced and learned this past week, and with a deeper appreciation about what America has been through in our relatively recent past, I’m surprisingly more optimistic now than when I left Portland on Friday. Our country has written many difficult chapters. Each one required us to pay attention, get involved, and build strength with our communities so we could work on a better future with shared purpose. This time is no different.

I look forward to seeing some of you at Bike Happy Hour later today. We meet every Wednesday from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at Migration Brewing on N Williams Avenue. Free snacks at 4:00, open mic at 5:00. Everyone is welcome.