Introduction:
I recently experienced something very sad that shows where superficial human priorities stand when surrounded by a deep sense of denial and a high level of ignorance. I initially wanted to write about it, but when a writer like myself brings to the attention of the average citizen of the world something real, though kind of disturbing, people do not want to know about it and avoid reading it. They zone themselves out of reality. They deny its existence because they feel they cannot do anything about it, so they turn their back on reality regardless if it has a direct impact on their children and grandchildren’s futures. Rather than a hard negative reality, they prefer reading entertaining, relaxing, and spirit-lifting articles, blogs or books. While it is all nice and dandy, it is my strong opinion that people should not disconnect themselves from the reality that surrounds them, especially when their own peace and subsistence and that of their family is at high risk.
A sad and painful event that happened on April the 15th, 2019 is the fire that destroyed two-thirds of the roof of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. But as sad as that might seem, there was something far sadder and kind of alarming and disturbing that transpired over the 24 hours after the fire. Now, before I explain why, I would like to relate it to something important I once wrote.
In my third book entitled Our Runaway Globe, I wrote about the destruction of heritage sites during the Syrian civil war. During this war, rebels and the Syrian government destroyed beautiful historical sites that had withstood the passing of time, even since before the Roman Empire. In my eyes, that was a crime committed against humanity. Beautiful and historical places like the Semitic City of Palmira, Citadel Aleppo, the Mosque of Sermin, the city of Bosra, and many other places, were destroyed and they now only remain intact in the history books. People need to relate to the deep and painful loss of these historical places. Therefore, in my book I gave specific examples of places in North America (Mexico, USA, and Canada) that if they were to disappear, how would the people react nationally and internationally?
Make no mistake; there is no doubt in my mind that the French people need to rescue Notre-Dame Cathedral from the ashes. I am absolutely all for it and I sincerely hope they rebuild it to its original standing as soon as possible. Why? Well, because it is part of their culture, history, background, identity, and pride. It is a symbol of their country that should never cease to exist. The Notre-Dame Cathedral forms part of a World Heritage Site, known and registered as “Paris, Banks of the Seine”. This is exactly how it is listed in the World Heritage List, where the Notre-Dame Cathedral represents an architecturally universal heritage that survived two world wars.
Sad reality:
The unity of the French people to get together and try to rebuild their Notre-Dame Cathedral is admirable. But what is really sad is how in less than 48 hours they had already received over $1.3 billion dollars on donations, when our planet is screaming for help and slowly dying. President Macron asked for help to rebuild the Cathedral, and donations poured from all over the world, especially from very rich French people.
SOURCE: Pixabay.com