Across the Universe: Oxford

After spending the early afternoon at the British Museum, which houses King Tut’s mummy and the Rosetta Stone, we decided to see the Palace of Westminster – the home of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  Originally, we intended to take the seemingly obligatory photograph in front of Big Ben and then move on.

As we passed in front of the palace, we saw a group of people lining up for a tour.  My friends decided they wanted to go on the tour.  I was reluctant.  The tour was not free, and I have been trying to cut down my spending.  Also, I could not help but recall my disappointing tour of the United States Capitol a few years ago, when I stood in line for several hours only to see a few rooms before we were shuffled out of the building.  I was not optimistic about our chances of receiving a thorough tour of a government building in this age of terrorism and paranoia.

Outvoted by my friends, I bought a ticket for the tour.  I am now very glad that I did.  Even with the thorough security checkpoints, we stood in line no more than 10 minutes before embarking on our tour.  The tour was extremely thorough.  In addition to the marvelous entrance hall, our guide took us through the chambers of the two houses of British Parliament – the House of Lords and the House of Commons.  We were able to sit where members of Parliament sit before a controversial vote and stand where Prime Minister David Cameron stands when addressing the House of Commons.  Of course, there were a number of things we were not permitted to do.

We could not sit on the benches in the house chambers, and, as mere commoners (I say this with heavy sarcasm), we were not allowed to stand on the platform occupied by the Queen at the ceremonial opening of Parliament.  The presence of heavy security was readily apparent.  Machine gun-wielding guards patrolled the halls.  Full tours of the palace are given only on Saturdays, when Parliament is not in session.  During the week, visitors are restricted to the viewing galleries in the house chambers.

Nonetheless, I was surprised pleasantly by the broad scope of the tour.  I cannot imagine being allowed to stand at the desks of senators in the chamber of the United States Senate or behind the podium of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.  While I understand the security concerns, I believe stringent restrictions on access to the pragmatically and symbolically most important government buildings creates an unnecessary and artificial barrier between the people and the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

My tour of the Palace of Westminster convinced me that it is possible to balance legitimate concerns about security with a democratic government that welcomes the people into its place of business.  In this respect, I believe the United States, as the world’s flagship democracy, would do well to take a cue from the nation of which we declared ourselves independent many years ago. But, they can keep their bloody monarch.