If you were to ask a thousand Americans to offer several adjectives to describe Washington, D.C., the list would surely be fascinating and perhaps a little bit instructive. “Patriotism” and “pride” would likely be on the list. But so, too, might “corrupt” or “disconnected.” As the United States capital, Washington has always been a microcosm of the country itself – a symbol of all its glories and contradictions.
But this week’s cover story, written by Michael S. Hopkins and photographed by Melanie Stetson Freeman, evokes an adjective that has always been true, but perhaps never more relevant than now: complex.