Since commuting in and out of DC via the metro during rush hour can be so expensive, meeting a fellow St Andrew alumnus for a happy hour drink was a nice way to socialize while avoiding the exuberant metro fares. She lives near the Columbia Heights metro station, and I got to see her neighborhood around the station. I always find it interesting to see where and how my DC friends live throughout the metro area; some love the inner city lifestyle where biking and the metro are the easiest and cheapest ways to get around; others live in suburbs beyond the Beltway where the land and rent prices are significantly lower even though the driving and metro commute is horrific. While visiting this not-so-touristy area of DC with my friend, I could see how this area around the metro station had gone through a bit of 'gentrification.' After the construction of the DC metro system in the 1970s, the land prices around metro stations increased dramatically. Many of the former inhabitants had to leave for other neighborhoods or out of the DC metro area completely because they couldn't afford to live in the new posh apartment complexes and condos. However, just beyond these pockets of posh neighborhoods immediately next to the metro stations are huge swaths of still poverty/crime-ridden neighborhoods that most everyone forgets about unless they get lost in them. It honestly reminds me a bit of Vicksburg, Mississippi, where some of the best homes in town are just a couple blocks away from the poorest neighborhoods; once, a group of guys tried to mug me in one of those neighborhoods so that I still keep my guard up inside cities. Since I usually explore these neighborhoods inside the District with friends who live there, I've learned which areas have cool and trendy restaurants and bars while learning which streets to avoid.
My friend and I walked from the area around Columbia Heights to a neighborhood called Adams Morgan. This spot of land is slap-dab in the middle of several metro stations from the red and green lines, but not one of those metro stations is within easy walking distance. My friend told me that was done on purpose. The community here adamantly opposes building a station even though it would be relatively cheap and easy. This area is one of the more interesting neighborhoods I've yet seen in DC. It seems to be affluent enough with a very young, hipster, and trendy feel. Unlike the areas around U Street and Eastern Market, Adams Morgan isn't as touristy. The bars and restaurants have reasonable prices, and no one seems to wander into this area accidently. A lot of the people I saw looked as though they were young college interns working on the Hill or had just recently moved into the District after graduating from college. Howard University is nearby, so perhaps that added to the college atmosphere, but perhaps my first impression is completely wrong.
My St Andrews friend chose to take me to a place that would remind us of our Scottish days, Bourbon on 18th Street. As the name suggests, this establishment specializes in whiskies, and the dimly-lit interior with brown-painted walls reminded me of some pubs frequented. The happy hour special on bourbon was incredibly well priced, especially considering how everything in DC costs significantly more than everywhere else. The serving was about 4 times larger than the skimpy Scottish servings to which I had grown accustomed. Of course, I had to be a whisky snob and pour a dash of water into my neat bourbon so that the flavors would explode a bit better. My drink, the special for the day, was the Old Forester Signature from Kentucky. I didn't think about bringing a pen and paper with me so that I could write down my thoughts on this bourbon, but I remember it had a robust and full flavored taste. It would be one that I would drink again. From what I've been able to glean from a quick internet search, it shouldn't be too expensive to buy a bottle in the States if I found a liquor store that carried it.
While sitting next to an open window on this breezy spring evening, I sipped my bourbon and watched as pedestrians, bikes, busses, and cars competed for the same space just a dozen or so yards away where a side alley emptied onto 18th Street. Looking at all these people made me think about how this community fits into the rest of the city's metropolitan area. It's almost isolated because getting in and out can be difficult even though it is in the center of a huge urban expanse. Yet, it is also well connected for people who work downtown. I thought about why this community wouldn't want a metro station that would better connect the residents to the rest of the city. I've heard about several other communities inside the District that don't want a metro station, such as Georgetown. When the suburban neighborhoods in Virginia fight against the city's plans to expand the metro into their communities, the residents get accused of racism because the metro would better connect their community to the less-fortunate neighborhoods. No one can hardly accuse Adams Morgan of racism because they don't want a metro station. I tried to think of other reasons. A metro station would dramatically affect land values and taxes in this neighborhood, and many residents would probably leave because they couldn't afford to stay. My price of bourbon would most definitely increase. The whole community would change as gentrification brought new residents to the neighborhoods. The disadvantages of a metro station far outweigh the advantages, especially since building the new station and new rails could cost millions or billions of tax-dollars. Yet because this community and many others around the metropolitan area don't want a more metro stations and lines or a more efficient highway system, traffic throughout the city is horrific. This city is a conglomerate of communities smashed into each other while refusing to work with each other. In order to attain certain goals, like an efficient transportation system, all the different incorporated towns in two states and the District would have to agree. As far as I can tell, every community is focused on their own self-interest and not the city's greater good. Everyone has a different vision for their community, and few of these visions merge into one.
I wonder if this is what a country on the brink of civil war feels like. Two or more communities are officially part of the same community even though they have different self-images of who they are, what they want to do, and where they want to go. After years (or perhaps even months) of friction about how the official larger community should operate, the smaller fractions realize that it would be easier for them to break off and head into their own direction without worrying about what the other communities want. In the ensuing confusion and conflict, a civil war becomes incredibly likely. One of my professors at St Andrews tried to argue with us that constructing a new national narrative and self-image in spite of different communities is easy. Just look at Greece. All you need is a group of historians to construct a narrative and make certain the government includes all the communities so that everyone feels like they belong to the same nation. Et voila. Civil war is averted. Simple as pie. I never bought this poppycock. Just look at Italy. They've tried desperately to construct a single national image and narrative, but there are still numerous fractions across the country. As I consider how the metropolitan DC area is like a mini-country on the brink of civil war, I see how it could be very difficult to construct a new self-identity and narrative spreading across Northern Virginia and into Baltimore so that everyone would be willing to make painful compromises in order to attain a greater good. An inspirational leader would be a good start, but that's not a guarantee. If I was in a country on the brink of civil war and the only thing that could save us from disaster was an inspirational leader, I would buy a gun. Relying upon an inspirational leader is like relying upon the hail-mary pass in the last seconds of a football game. Of course, DC isn't a mini-country on the brink of civil war, but it is interesting to compare and contrast the similarities.
I've probably spent too much time studying conflict and civil wars because I'm still thinking about these things while sipping my bourbon.
No comments:
Post a Comment