The Washington Monument

One floor down from the top of the Washington Monument, we saw a lesson in the democratic society our forefathers built:

At the monument, you're shuttled to the top floor, where you can stay as long as you like. When you'd like to return, you walk down a flight of steps and catch the elevator back down, which arrives every 15 minutes. There's usually a wait, so the Parks Service has put up signs directing visitors to wrap the line around the elevator in a clockwise direction. Even then, it might take one or two cycles for your turn to head to the bottom. It's all very clear and orderly.

We were waiting about 10 minutes for our ride down, when a family of three arrived to take the elevator as well. Like so many people today, they believed the rules did not apply to them. The trio gathered in front of the elevator door, clearly taking notice of the queue and avoiding it.

We reached a point where the people on the line started looking at each other, as if to say, "Are these people for real?" Oh yes, they were for real. The mother looked up at the sign (Please form line this way ->) and sighed heavily. She pointed it out to the father. He chuckled, and told her it didn't matter. The adult son looked up as well, then glanced down the line with a look of triumph that said, "I am not like you, I don't have to wait."

A Park Service employee came around the corner and asked if they were waiting for the elevator. "Why, yes," they preened, so flattered at being asked, blinded by their sense of entitlement, that they were shocked by what happened next.

"Please step into line over there then," said the Park Service employee.

The mother blinked and froze for a moment before she moved. The father shook his head at the injustice of it all. The son looked everywhere but at the people in line. Right after "all men are created equal," in the Declaration of Independence, I believe there is a line about "first-come, first-served."

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