By the End of June: An Historic Decision

I suppose that for some people, perhaps among many of us, the official buildings scattered about the heart of Washington, D.C. are just that – lifeless edifices constructed of marble and brick. 

The iconic building of the United States Supreme Court,
Washington, D.C., on the afternoon of New Year's
Eve, December 31, 2011

But for me, from the first time that I flew over the nation’s Capital a long time ago as my flight slowly glided over the city on a bright day towards a landing strip of what was then known as Washington National Airport, I immediately established a wonder for what must lay within the inside walls of all that sculpted stone.

I also pondered -- even then – of how  it must change an official or a bureaucrat’s viewpoint and lifestyle, if one is not on guard against the seductive siren call of the overwhelming power which is being dispensed gratuitously from inside the political nerve centers which lie within those governmental buildings.

There are so many of them, that it’s impossible to visit them all in a few days, let alone to establish an adequate grasp of how the activities taking place behind those closed doors affect every aspect of our lives.


But, like most challenges in life, if one breaks up the puzzle into its component pieces, it becomes easier to understand how it all comes together. 

One of those pieces in the jigsaw of Washington is the white, antiseptic-looking building of the U.S. Supreme Court. 

This is the venue where some of the most epic decisions have been handed down – judgments which have affected not only the lives of generations of Americans, but which have sent members of the legislative and executive branches into either deliriums of joy, or apoplectic fits, depending upon their bias and expectations of those judicial fiats.

Such is the case with the now irrevocably dubbed law – ObamaCare – legally referred to as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. 

Not in recent memory have I seen a piece of legislation which has been so divisive and which has caused such a breach between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government.

As recently as this afternoon, in a press conference where President Barack Obama was responding to the issue of ObamaCare in a case now pending before the Supreme Court, our president lectured the Supreme Court justices, reminding them of the perils of being an “activist” court. 

Let’s just permit the justices to do their job, shall we.  Whatever the outcome, we can pick up the pieces of this very controversial legislation after June.

Thanks for reading, and have yourselves a peaceful week.

(Click on the image for an enhanced view.)