Not a tragedy
As Rich Lavish Cash on Notre-Dame, Many Ask: What About the Needy?
The response to the fire at Notre-Dame has been strange, at least in my opinion. And it's not just that all the rich are getting in each others way trying to fund the repairs. It's the religious outrage. While conspiracy theorists try to place the blame for what appears to be an accident on Jews or Muslims, others treat it like an unbelievable tragedy. At America magazine, a comment to an article compares the fire to the terrorist attack of 9/11 in which thousands of people were killed, Fr. Martin has an article there too asking where God was in the Notre-Dame fire, the same question originally asked by David Bentley Hart about the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 which killed more than 200,000 people.
Get a grip, guys. It was an accidental fire which damaged but didn't destroy the medieval structure, no one was killed, most of the important stuff inside was safely removed, and all will be rebuilt with the outpouring of cash gifts. It's not a tragedy.
The response to the fire at Notre-Dame has been strange, at least in my opinion. And it's not just that all the rich are getting in each others way trying to fund the repairs. It's the religious outrage. While conspiracy theorists try to place the blame for what appears to be an accident on Jews or Muslims, others treat it like an unbelievable tragedy. At America magazine, a comment to an article compares the fire to the terrorist attack of 9/11 in which thousands of people were killed, Fr. Martin has an article there too asking where God was in the Notre-Dame fire, the same question originally asked by David Bentley Hart about the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 which killed more than 200,000 people.
Get a grip, guys. It was an accidental fire which damaged but didn't destroy the medieval structure, no one was killed, most of the important stuff inside was safely removed, and all will be rebuilt with the outpouring of cash gifts. It's not a tragedy.
posted by crystal | 4:15 PM
2 Comments:
I agree that it wasn't a tragedy in the same sense that the Indian Ocean tsunami was. I think it was a symbol for the French people, whether they were religious or not, part of their heritage. And it was an iconic landmark for tourists. There was a cute picture of my teenage great niece on Facebook, in front of the cathedral, wearing a pink beret. I have never been to France, so have not seen Notre Dame in person. I enjoyed Victor Hugo's book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, when I was young. I am very glad no one was killed in the fire. Did you see the little news item about the bee hives on the roof? They survived, and the bees are busily buzzing about.
Hi Katherine. Yes, I saw about the bees :) Maybe it's one of those 'glass half full or empty' things. I'm just glad that the cathedral wasn't destroyed and that all the important stuff inside was saved. It survives and will be fixed up again. Things like the gargoyles and the Paris Point Zero plague outside the cathedral are all ok.
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