My Senior Government class took a trip to the Minnesota State Capitol building, and it was very interesting and informative. We toured the entire building, and, I must say, I was impressed.
This is the chamber of the Minnesota House, where my local representative, Mike Jaros (D), serves.
The State Capitol also contains the courtroom of the Minnesota Supreme Court. I was impressed by the room's architecture, art, and its general aesthetic feeling of seriousness.
Above the exit to the Supreme Court was this excellent quote, "Where Law Ends, Tyranny Begins". You may not be able to read this in the picture, as photobucket is a piece (does anyone know of any better photo hosting sites?). Nonetheless, as I left the courtroom, I gained much more respect for the American system of law, especially in my home state.
The State Capitol has many busts, statues, and paintings of famous Minnesota politicians. This is a picture of me with one of my favorites: the late great Hubert Humphrey.
Following our tour of the building, we met with state legislators, including Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon (my State Senator), an aide to Majority Leader Sen. Dean Johnson, and gubernatorial candidate Sen. Steve Kelley (pictured). Most questions that my classmates and I asked of the Representatives and Senators related directly to education and education spending, but, as a political junkie, I couldn't help but ask Senator Kelley what differentiated him from the other candidates. After he stumbled for a moment, he gave two general answers: as the Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, he would be the best candidate in for education, and, having been elected in a suburban district with many moderates and Republicans, he would be very electable. Seeing as his audience consisted of high school students and teachers, I couldn't help but wonder whether he was pandering to the base, but I found him to be genuine nonetheless.
My friend Aaron and I reveled in the beauty of the area around the Capitol, and this is apparent in this picture I captured of him standing with the Capitol in the background.
Finally, having found a podium in the Capitol Rotunda, I couldn't help but get a picture of myself playing politician. Perhaps this will become a commonplace sight in Minnesota?
In retrospect, I truly enjoyed my trip to the Capitol. I gained a new respect for my representatives and their devotion to improving life in my state. Hopefully, their passion will lead them to continue to make the right decisions for Minnesota, and I hope that politicians on all levels take a page out of their book.