{"id":321,"date":"2008-11-10T17:46:25","date_gmt":"2008-11-10T17:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ireland.markciecior.com\/?p=321"},"modified":"2024-11-27T22:12:18","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T22:12:18","slug":"watching-over-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ireland.markciecior.com\/?p=321","title":{"rendered":"Watching over Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Reichstag caught fire in 1933<\/a> it was only a few months before Hitler assumed total power over Germany.\u00a0 Now that Germany has reunified and moved its seat of government to Berlin there are numerous reminders of what absolute power can do.\u00a0 The first is the Holocaust Memorial<\/a> just to the south of the Reichstag.\u00a0 The second is the new dome on top of the building.<\/p>\n

This dome is a glass structure built right over the deliberation chamber of the Bundestag (Germany’s legislature).\u00a0 Visitors can go up into the dome for free and get a) a good view of the city and b) a good view of what their government is doing.\u00a0 There are mirrors in the center so that as you climb up the dome you can always look down and see what’s going on.\u00a0 Politicians, then, only need to look up to be reminded of who’s really in charge – the people.\u00a0 I thought it was a really cool structure and an even better idea.<\/p>\n\n\t\t