On Watch

Linda Burton posting from Helena, Montana – The brisk hot wind had the flags at the State Capitol furled out full today, and Montana, the 17-foot statue atop the handsome copper dome, stood watch. From below, it’s hard to see the liberty cap Montana wears but we know it represents freedom. The literature tells us she holds three symbolic items – a shield for the United States, a laurel wreath for victory, and a torch to light the way. Governor Brian Schweitzer introduces the Capitol as the People’s House in the Montana Historical Society publication that is handed out to one and all; he calls it “a readily recognizable icon of democracy.” And the people come; to gather in solidarity or opposition, to speak their mind, to celebrate, or just to see. Washington DC-based Concerned Women for America (CWA) made a bus stop at the Capitol today, urging women of faith to register and vote in the 2012 elections. Inside, a Missoula group called the Blue Skies Campaign continued their week-long sit-in opposing coal development in eastern Montana. At the Visitor’s Desk a couple from Germany inquired about the significance of the Capitol’s copper dome; another couple stopped for directions to “the famous Russell painting.” I headed for the rotunda. » read more