jakob kerr

Jul. 5, 2011 at 12:25am

d.c.
dc is the “america” that i have always known but that i have never lived. fireflies sparkle between white columns, the monuments glowing incandescent in the background, the air thick with humidity and ambition. it is an america that feels exotic and familiar at the same time.
dc is so different from the west coast that, at times, it has felt as if i’m in a foreign country, rather than the capital of my own. the west coast is a place for people who want to find their way. dc is a place for people who already know their way.
as someone told me today, people always move to a dc for a reason. they have a purpose, a goal in mind, something they are striving for, and dc is the place where they find it. this is the humming ambition in the air, the desire to be and do something important, to have deep, philosophical arguments in the corridors of hallowed buildings. dc oozes with tradition — it is a city that is constantly looking backward. not in a negative way, but in a way that people look to history to better define their own place in the world. dc is a set of guidelines, of rules, of conventions, and people come to dc because they are drawn to them as something bigger than themselves. they seek to find their place in this tradition, to become a piece of the puzzle.
in san francisco, there is no puzzle. and if there was, nobody would want to put it together. there is appreciation for history in the bay area, but it is a region that is forever looking forward to the next horizon. history is not needed to define your place in the world, because you are always creating your own new world, one that is better than the one that came before it. in places like silicon valley, guidelines are meant to be ignored, rule books make excellent kindling, and your building is merely a roof under which to store the computers. tradition is yet another impediment in the cyclical and endless quest for innovation.
what is beautiful about america is that this is a dichotomy etched in our cultural and geographic history. many early americans settled on the east coast, content to develop and define their new world. others, never satisfied to stop exploring, struck out for the frontier to create their own. that their decisions are still reflected today, in the cultures and people of the two coasts they represent, is truly something to celebrate.
happy independence day.
jk

d.c.

dc is the “america” that i have always known but that i have never lived. fireflies sparkle between white columns, the monuments glowing incandescent in the background, the air thick with humidity and ambition. it is an america that feels exotic and familiar at the same time.

dc is so different from the west coast that, at times, it has felt as if i’m in a foreign country, rather than the capital of my own. the west coast is a place for people who want to find their way. dc is a place for people who already know their way.

as someone told me today, people always move to a dc for a reason. they have a purpose, a goal in mind, something they are striving for, and dc is the place where they find it. this is the humming ambition in the air, the desire to be and do something important, to have deep, philosophical arguments in the corridors of hallowed buildings. dc oozes with tradition — it is a city that is constantly looking backward. not in a negative way, but in a way that people look to history to better define their own place in the world. dc is a set of guidelines, of rules, of conventions, and people come to dc because they are drawn to them as something bigger than themselves. they seek to find their place in this tradition, to become a piece of the puzzle.

in san francisco, there is no puzzle. and if there was, nobody would want to put it together. there is appreciation for history in the bay area, but it is a region that is forever looking forward to the next horizon. history is not needed to define your place in the world, because you are always creating your own new world, one that is better than the one that came before it. in places like silicon valley, guidelines are meant to be ignored, rule books make excellent kindling, and your building is merely a roof under which to store the computers. tradition is yet another impediment in the cyclical and endless quest for innovation.

what is beautiful about america is that this is a dichotomy etched in our cultural and geographic history. many early americans settled on the east coast, content to develop and define their new world. others, never satisfied to stop exploring, struck out for the frontier to create their own. that their decisions are still reflected today, in the cultures and people of the two coasts they represent, is truly something to celebrate.

happy independence day.