We, the people of other countries, come to the USA to see what the country is like…

In the Independence Visitor Center in Philadelphia, we meet staff members that bring us back to the year of 1776 just by their appearance…

We enjoyed the little chats and the way these people tried to connect our time with the eighteenth century. In the area is also the famous ”Liberty Bell”, supposedly important for the founding of the USA. On a walking distance you also find the home of Betsy Ross, who once designed the American flag. A tourist attraction among many others in the City of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania is the National Constitution Center. 2016 is an interesting year from a political point of view and although I am not an American resident I follow the news as closely as possible in order to find out who might be the best suited president candidate this time, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump…

In The National Consitution Center many displays explain the political system with easy accessible facts and examples. You can navigate in any way you like and stop here and there to watch a short movie or do an interactive game of some sort. There are also members of staff who explain details from American history or help you out if you seem lost in any way. One of them tried to talk me into a fake ”quiz-show” concerning how power is shared between the Congress, the Senate, the President and the High Court, but I excused myself saying I am just a tourist from Sweden… How power is shared in the USA compared to Sweden where I live, is different  and I thought I would not know enough to stand a chance in the quiz-show… But knowing facts about how power is spread is interesting, so we talked for a while anyway. The lady then shared with me that her husband was of Norwegian origin (Norway is our closest neighbor) and was curious to know whether it was true or not that Swedes and Norwegians joke a lot making fun of each other… I said that was true and gave her a few examples of typical Norway-jokes. She, too, had a few jokes to share with me, which was fun indeed! 🙂

I am very impressed by the way the National Constitution Center applies to all ages and all sorts of visitors. If one would be more interested in the American political system than the average visitor, there are loads of documents to read and go thru and for such a visitor a day or a few hours would not be enough… My favourite place in the museum is the room with the statues of the American presidents. They are presented as if they were alive, although they are all made of bronze. If you like, you can stand opposite George Washington to experience how tall he was and what he might have looked like, or maybe just spend time with Ben Franklin, a favorite thinker of mine…

In the National Constitution Center a few of the guides were dressed like the ”founding fathers”. These guides are in every way very special and actually act as if they were the founding fathers for real… They also act as if this was not the year of 2016, but rather 1776… To us that was kind of fun when we met ”Benjamin Franklin” who referred to the Swedish King when saying that it was ”a pity that Sweden doesn’t help us actively now that we really need support to deal with the Britons!”  We enjoyed that little chat a lot since it was also a glimpse of past times… Most of all, I personally enjoy the performance with an actor who explains the writing of the National Constitution, starting with …

WE…the People…

The way this performance builds up to a truly patriotic feeling of belonging, I’m not surprised if Americans are very proud afterwards.

I almost turned into an American myself… 🙂

The actor is just one person, but his passion is of a kind that you cannot ignore and his voice is very eager to find the heart in you… You listen to every word he says and you understand the underlying events that lead to the writing of the National Constitution. Of course not just the actor, but the filmclips, the soundtrack and the very dark room helps to build up this feeling of importance. We all, even Swedes…are ”the people” this moment…

The very thought of sharing power like it is presented in the National Constitution is wise. A president with too much power may turn the USA into something else but a safe  democracy if it had not been for the National Constitution… I like the way it is built in the system that you cannot rule on your own…

Being a tourist in the USA means being curious about everything that is not as in Sweden… 🙂

I have asked people I have met whether they are worried or not for the coming election, whether they find Mr Trump or Mrs Clinton best or worse etc. There is no way my asking can be taken into account for the outcome of the election, but what I found interesting was that it seemed as if half of the people I asked was in favor of Mr Trump whereas the other 50% preferred Mrs Clinton… I had hoped for some ”hint” when I did my ”research” but obviously I will have to wait until election day for the very result!

In a dark corner of the Center it is possible to pretend you are the President of the United States… I simply had to stand in line for this little game… 🙂

Had I been the President of the United States, I would work closely together with the UN, with the Human Right’s as my wish list for all Mankind. We need to work together in creating a better world. A better tomorrow starts today…

The president of the United States…