I'm flying home today from the 26th General Synod of the United Church of Christ, and thought I'd write about some of my thoughts and observations from the week in Hartford. (Don't worry, this won't be churchy).
One of the most striking things I noticed about the conference was how strict the security was at the Civic Center in Hartford and how lax it is at the Connecticut Capitol.
We spent the week standing in lines and having our bags searched, because the arena had strict security guidelines, which the conference couldn't get them to bend. As with flying, we weren't allowed to take any liquids into the Civic Center. (Of course, bottled water inside the arena was $3.50 for a teeny-tiny bottle, which some speculated might be the real motivation for the security.)
After all this standing in line, imagine my surprise when I was able to walk right into the Connecticut Capitol building, up the stairs and into any office I thought looked interesting.
When I entered the building, the security guard sitting behind a big wooden desk as if it were 1957 and not 2007, said, "Sir, what are you hear for?" And then helpfully pointed me to the rack of brochures for the self-guided tour. He never asked to check the water bottle I'd dutifully dumped in the flowers before entering the building, much less my bag for weapons. Instead, he seemed to think being a security guards is like being a helpful Information Booth teller. Crazy.