PUBLIC BUILDING ACTUALLY OPEN TO THE PUBLIC - FOR A WHILE.Byline: MARIEL GARZA I stumbled into the historically preserved Indiana State House last weekend and got a big shock. I was hoping to escape the muggy mug·gy adj. mug·gi·er, mug·gi·est Warm and extremely humid. [Probably from Middle English mugen, to drizzle; akin to Old Norse mugga, a drizzle. heat for a few minutes of my self-guided tour A self-guided tour is where one navigates a route themselves as opposed to an escorted tours where a tour guide person directs the route, times, information, and places toured. Many self-guided tours come with suggestions, maps, instructions, directions, and items to see or do. of downtown Indianapolis The term Downtown Indianapolis refers to the central business district, or CBD, of Indianapolis, Indiana. The boundaries of Downtown Indianapolis vary; the original mile square of Indianapolis is considered to be the true "downtown", though some may consider downtown's boundaries when I spied an open door in what appeared to be some sort of public hall. Or was it? No metal detectors framed the doorways of this stately Victorian-era building. No security guards checked me out as I walked inside. No one asked me for identification or what business I had with the state of Indiana that day, or what that package was under my arm. Inside the building, every office was open and welcoming to the few tourists milling about and admiring the 1888 architecture and titanic chandeliers. A public building freely open to the public? No government building in America works like this, not after the Department of Homeland Security Noun 1. Department of Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States scared us all silly about ``credible threats'' and al-Qaida cells planning some shock and awe Shock and awe, technically known as rapid dominance, is a military doctrine based on the use of overwhelming decisive force, dominant battlefield awareness, dominant maneuvers, and spectacular displays of power to paralyze an adversary's perception of the battlefield and of their own upon the unwitting heartland. It must be some sort of museum, I reasoned, to show school kids the quaint ways of government back in the day when direct democracy was literal as well as figurative. That theory made sense until I peeked through the open door of the ``Governor's Office'' off the main hall and a modern-day receptionist beckoned me in. Confused, I asked: ``This isn't really the Governor's Office?'' ``Yes, it is,'' the cheery young man replied, then glanced over his shoulder at an open door. ``But he's not here right now.'' Sometimes, it seems, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Mitchell Elias "Mitch" Daniels, Jr. (born April 7, 1949 in Monongahela, Pennsylvania) is the current Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana. A Republican, he began his four-year term as Indiana's 49th Governor on January 10, 2005. really is in his office, the one so unguarded and welcoming and just a mere 20 feet from me and any other unscreened person who might happen by to say howdy. Same with the members of the House of Representatives upstairs, the lieutenant governor across the hall and the superintendent of public education down the way. By design, the Indiana State House is about as open as any 7-Eleven. And these days, that's about as rare as terrorists plotting to blow up Los Angeles City Hall. Nearly four years after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., governments across the nation haven't relaxed one bit. Indeed, they seem to believe that the passage of time increases the likelihood that Osama bin Laden's minions will figure out a way to bring down the state government of Idaho or disrupt the important legislative doings over there in Rhode Island Rhode Island, island, United States Rhode Island, island, 15 mi (24 km) long and 5 mi (8 km) wide, S R.I., at the entrance to Narragansett Bay. It is the largest island in the state, with steep cliffs and excellent beaches. . That may be true, but meanwhile government agencies from California to Pennsylvania have found a convenient excuse to do something I suspect they always wanted: Put up a barrier between themselves and the masses they represent. As a journalist, I regularly negotiate the phalanx phalanx, ancient Greek formation of infantry. The soldiers were arrayed in rows (8 or 16), with arms at the ready, making a solid block that could sweep bristling through the more dispersed ranks of the enemy. of security contraptions and squint-eyed officers posted at the entrance to every public building in Los Angeles. So it sure was a breath of fresh air to find a government bold enough to decide a public place ought to remain open to the public, unlike the Indianapolis city and county offices down the way. Sadly, this last vestige vestige /ves·tige/ (ves´tij) the remnant of a structure that functioned in a previous stage of species or individual development.vestig´ial ves·tige n. of life pre-9-11 may not last the summer. The week before my visit, a small group of local protesters upset about a road project mixed it up with Capitol police officers and spray-painted a symbol on the building right under their noses. The graffiti had to be sandblasted off. Now a task force is looking at how to enhance security without cutting into access too much. Maybe that will mean just an ID check at first. But how long until metal detectors show up and visitors see the line to get in snaking out the door and decide, heck, it's easier to just go home? Mariel Garza mariel.garza(at)dailynews.com |
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