Rhode Island and its history reminds me of the little red train going up the steep hill saying: 'I think I can... I think I can..' Providence, the hub of RI, is a place of the fiercely independent. Roger Williams vision for freedom of conscience became the foundation of our nation's commitment to Freedom of Religion! With a Rooster for a State Bird, you can't but understand the feistyness of this State's history. |
Roger Williams, a visionary thinker on religious freedom, equal treatment of Native Americans, and founder of Rhode Island, made this area a haven for persecuted religious groups. He laid the groundwork for the ideas of liberty, equality, and the separation of church and state in the US Constitution.
Today, we take this concept of freedom of religion for granted, but most people of his time condemned such ideas as naive and dangerous. Religious freedom and civil order could not coexist. But like that little train, Roger Williams persisted, founded Rhode Island and put his beliefs into practice, giving "shelter for persons distressed of conscience".
As we walked the city streets of Providence we witnessed the culture of this religious tolerance and respect first hand. This respect was evidenced by a marquee we spotted from a Baptist Church recognizing Ramadan! Impressive!
I personally have never seen (with the exception in my birth country of Indonesia) a Christian Church recognizing the holy month of Ramadan of the Muslim religion. If only more people in this world can follow this example and teachings of tolerance and respect.
Today, we take this concept of freedom of religion for granted, but most people of his time condemned such ideas as naive and dangerous. Religious freedom and civil order could not coexist. But like that little train, Roger Williams persisted, founded Rhode Island and put his beliefs into practice, giving "shelter for persons distressed of conscience".
As we walked the city streets of Providence we witnessed the culture of this religious tolerance and respect first hand. This respect was evidenced by a marquee we spotted from a Baptist Church recognizing Ramadan! Impressive!
I personally have never seen (with the exception in my birth country of Indonesia) a Christian Church recognizing the holy month of Ramadan of the Muslim religion. If only more people in this world can follow this example and teachings of tolerance and respect.
The mansions of Rhode Island - Misquamicut
Other amazing sites of Rhode Island were its seashore and its mansions - of which Allan & I were shoo'd away from....
Funny story: We found lodging right on the beach in an overpriced little vacation hotel on an amazing stretch of beach. Once settled in and grumbling about the amenities in contrast to the price we paid, we went to the beach and spotted a light house in the distance. So we decided to hike towards it. Spotting beautiful mansions along the way and four miles later, tired and needing a drink, we spotted a huge spectacular building which we thought must be a hotel. The beach in front of this amazing structure was dotted with chairs and a cozy looking restaurant/bar eating type area under a large canopy. Ahah.. we thought, what a great place to rest, have a drink and some pupu's. So we thought....
We walked towards it, and as we're approaching the entrance a nice young lady came to us who we thought was a receptionist.... ooops...eratta... she was a security person letting us 'gently' know that we're not welcome there as this is a 'private party'. So Allan asked: OK, is there a restaurant inside we can go to? Her now stern comment, 'no sir, the entire facility is for a private party, the public is not allowed here'.... Hmmm, so I asked, 'what is the occasion? A wedding?' Her snide comment, 'that is priviliged information'.... OK... guess we're the peanut gallery... so we lingered a little trying to decide what to do next... Guess, we didn't move away fast enough as the young lady told us that the area we're at is reserved and we must move away.... Hmmmm... my sand is not your sand.. guess we don't belong here... so away we went.....
The next day we drove to the same area to see what this special place was. It was a private club... FANCY......Check it out!
Funny story: We found lodging right on the beach in an overpriced little vacation hotel on an amazing stretch of beach. Once settled in and grumbling about the amenities in contrast to the price we paid, we went to the beach and spotted a light house in the distance. So we decided to hike towards it. Spotting beautiful mansions along the way and four miles later, tired and needing a drink, we spotted a huge spectacular building which we thought must be a hotel. The beach in front of this amazing structure was dotted with chairs and a cozy looking restaurant/bar eating type area under a large canopy. Ahah.. we thought, what a great place to rest, have a drink and some pupu's. So we thought....
We walked towards it, and as we're approaching the entrance a nice young lady came to us who we thought was a receptionist.... ooops...eratta... she was a security person letting us 'gently' know that we're not welcome there as this is a 'private party'. So Allan asked: OK, is there a restaurant inside we can go to? Her now stern comment, 'no sir, the entire facility is for a private party, the public is not allowed here'.... Hmmm, so I asked, 'what is the occasion? A wedding?' Her snide comment, 'that is priviliged information'.... OK... guess we're the peanut gallery... so we lingered a little trying to decide what to do next... Guess, we didn't move away fast enough as the young lady told us that the area we're at is reserved and we must move away.... Hmmmm... my sand is not your sand.. guess we don't belong here... so away we went.....
The next day we drove to the same area to see what this special place was. It was a private club... FANCY......Check it out!
Watch Hill
That day, we never reached the Light House, as it was on a hill surrounded by rocks and we didn't wear the right shoes - so we decided to find it the next day! We found Watch Hill - aptly named for this light house. We walked through an exclusive mansion-lined neighborhood (where cars were not allowed & no photography) to reach the light house.
It was an interesting hike indeed!
It was an interesting hike indeed!