Even Better than Before

17 April 2019

 

Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Rebuilding Norte Dame is an Opportunity, and a Metaphor

 

When the Cathedral of Norte Dame in Paris burned a couple days ago, every friend of civilization felt a loss. Even non-Catholics, non-believers who have visited the cathedral understand how simply beautiful it is and what a feat of engineering it is. The fire destroyed much of the wooden supports for the stone structure, including all of the roof. Yet, as President Emmanuel Macron has said, the cathedral will be rebuilt. It is a huge opportunity and a metaphor.

There is a false idea that once a building is erected, it is a complete and everlasting thing. This goes against the experience of every homeowner who realizes a floor needs refinishing or a wall needs patching. A cathedral begun in 1163 is going to have more than its share of cracked plaster and sagging beams. Indeed, the last eight and a half centuries have seen numerous reconstruction projects, the first less than 200 years after workers laid the first stone. During the French Revolution, there was even talk of tearing it down. Napoleon I had it restored, not from any sense of artistic wonder or religious desire -- he wanted to be crowned emperor in a posh place.

It is a shame that the fire took so much of the wooden supports and the roof. The fire department of Paris managed to save the stone structures by putting out the fire as effectively as they did. For an hour or so, the Ministry of the Interior doubted the cathedral would survive. Fortunately, enough of the wooden supports survived that the stonework remains stable, or at least, initial assessments say so.

The question of how to rebuild is the main issue. The architectural conservatives will demand that everything be put back the way it was. The more adventurous will suggest innovations that may add to the glory of the place or miss the mark entirely (e.g., the I.M. Pei glass pyramid at the Louvre).

This is a journal of politics and economics, not of architecture and art. Frankly, one feels inadequately informed and educated to have an opinion beyond suggesting that modern materials that will not show should be used to maximize the safety of visitors and enhance the longevity of the building. That said, the ambitious plan the French president has announced, rebuilding the structure within five years, may be taken as a metaphor for reconstructing the divided societies of the world.

There is general agreement across French society that the fire cannot be the end of things. In a defiance that harkens back to the Resistance, France has decided to fix things. The fight over a wooden roof versus a fire-resistant one is inevitable, but it should not detract from the drive to repair the cathedral.

Likewise, the divided societies of the world (France, Britain, the US, China, etc.) must start from the beginning. Across the spectrum, people must agree that the damage done in the last several years must be repaired. Numerous political movements exist that beg the political classes to unite the people. That may be putting the cart before the horse; the people must unite and bring the politicians along. Nevertheless, unity is a widely held ambition.

From that must flow a desire to compromise. The fight over the type of roof will mirror the type of societies the people want. The important part of the discussion is not the arguments made nor the final outcome. What matters is that all parties agree that they must solve the problem rather than score political points against one another.

Lessons from the reconstruction of lower Manhattan after the Al Qaeda murders of 2001 apply to both Notre Dame and broader societies. Families of the dead wanted a memorial. Businesses and residents of the area wanted a revitalization of the neighborhoods. Both got what they wanted, to a degree, and not everyone was entirely happy with the outcome. Yet it was better than the smoking Pile.

Notre Dame is going to change. It has to change. Yet with a little planning, some listening and some compromise, it can be even better than it was before. The same is true of the societies that need repair.


© Copyright 2019 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.


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