Bumper sticker land USA

Washington, like so many places, is far more than a place – it’s a state of mind.

I come from a place that is very much a state of mind – Hilton Head Island. HHI is a dreamy vacation destination, detached from the mainland by just enough distance – 5,610 feet – to make it a world unto its own, both a part of and yet separate from South Carolina, the United States and the whole of the North American continent. On that modest barrier island measuring no more than 55.5 square miles, a unique combination of golf, beaches, and stunning natural surroundings results in an equally unique way of life, a very Hilton Head state of mind.

Where I live now, Paris, represents such a distinctive state of mind, now chronicled in eons of literature, film and popular culture, that just saying the name of that city evokes dozens of images, ideas and idiosyncrasies that I don’t even need to list. When I refer to a Parisian state of mind, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Washington is the same way, but is harder to put your finger on.

In Washington, everything is somehow about government, public policy and debate. It was a backwoods swamp until it was chosen as the federal capital. Even up until the First World War, it was still a minor town, almost an afterthought in American life but for the existence of the federal government.

And now more than ever, with the nation divided by war, partisanship and an upcoming election, the Washington state of mind is in plain view all around us. Everyone has to have an opinion about everything, at all times. And from the Hill to the Executive agencies to the academic world to the think tanks, all of those opinions must be fully researched, analyzed and articulated for the world to witness. You can’t just have an opinion that you keep to yourself; you have to put it on a t-shirt, scream it through a megaphone or paint it on a banner for everyone to see.

If your car isn’t covered with bumper stickers, then is it really a car at all? Not in Washington. Even the license plates carry a political slogan – “Taxation Without Representation”, which says more about the Washington state of mind than any fake license plate slogan ever could anyway.

On the Metro, on the sides of buses and in the newspapers, the ads in Washington catch my eye and make me laugh. My favorite thus far on this trip is the following:

The caption reads “Life Can Be Beautiful”, which is followed by an enthusiastic and persuasive slogan – “Go Vegan!” The photo taking up the rest of the ad is of an amiable-looking young man smiling down at his innocent, would-be meal: he’s petting a chicken. The young man is possibly doing himself a favor by not consuming that dirty chicken and he’s certainly doing the chicken an even bigger favor by not eating him, but does he really have to pet it?

Here in Washington, that’s par for the course. You can’t just not eat the chicken. You have to smile at it and pet it, even if you contract bird flu in the process.