{"id":5015,"date":"2021-07-03T00:09:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-03T00:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=5015"},"modified":"2024-08-15T03:59:21","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T03:59:21","slug":"alabaster-cities-fireworks-a-condo-disaster-and-tears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/alabaster-cities-fireworks-a-condo-disaster-and-tears\/","title":{"rendered":"Alabaster Cities, Fireworks, a Condo Disaster and Tears"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cheez-It(r)<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>\"Grant<\/a>Patriotism comes in many flavors: cheesy, sour, salty: and that’s enough ‘flavor.’<\/p>\n

Maybe too much.<\/p>\n

My country’s Independence Day celebration, our Fourth of July, started me thinking about patriotism.<\/p>\n

Also screwball notions, drought and Florida’s pancaked condo.<\/p>\n

But mostly, the impending holiday is probably why part of an old song has been on my mind’s playlist this week:<\/p>\n

“…O beautiful for patriot dream
\nThat sees beyond the years
\nThine alabaster cities gleam
\nUndimmed by human tears!…”
\n(“America the Beautiful<\/a>,” Katharine Lee Bates, 1911 version, via Wikipedia)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So that’s what I’ll start with.<\/p>\n

Professor Bates’ train ride from Massachusetts to a job in Colorado Springs inspired “America the Beautiful.” That’s what I’ve been told, at any rate.<\/p>\n

Her itinerary explains amber waves of grain and purple mountain majesties. But I figure “alabaster cities” needs explaining. That phrase arguably happened because she stopped by the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

<\/a>Expo 1893<\/h4>\n

\"Charles<\/a>
\n(From Charles Dudley Arnold, via Meisje L. J. Connor, used w\/o permission.)<\/span>
\n(“Court of Honor with Columbia fountain in the midground”
\nMeisje L. J. Connor, “World’s Columbian Exposition 1893: Architecture and Innovation in Context” (2011)<\/span>)<\/p>\n

The Columbian Exposition’s nickname was “White City.”<\/p>\n

Mainly because the Beaux-Arts city of the future’s buildings had white facades.<\/p>\n

That was in 1893.<\/p>\n

The exposition was a big success.<\/p>\n

Apart from a fire that killed 16 people, and an assassin who killed Chicago’s mayor.<\/p>\n

After that, Chicago’s “White City” became a potential white elephant.<\/p>\n

Folks talked about upgrading “White City” buildings with real marble. But that’d be expensive. Besides, it might not be the best use of prime Chicago real estate.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Then, in 1894, a couple fires settled the question.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Chicago’s “White City” in Retrospect<\/h5>\n

\"Charles<\/a>
\n(From unknown artist, via Chicagology.com, used w\/o permission.)<\/span>
\n(Fire in the “White City:” Peristyle, Music Hall, Casino and Manufactures Building (1894))<\/p>\n

A contemporary account said that the fire started in the Casino. Then it ran along the Peristyle into the Music Hall. Whether or not that’s fraught with figurative fancies and rife with significant symbolism \u2014 is another topic.<\/p>\n

Off the cuff, I’d say “not.” But I could be wrong. A key term there is “fancies.”<\/p>\n

Despite the passing of generations, Chicago’s big exposition wasn’t entirely forgotten.<\/p>\n

In 1995, someone got 15 minutes of fame by saying that the “White City” stood for male chauvinist racist oppression.3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

I’ll grant that America in 1893 wasn’t like my country in 1995. Or 2021, for that matter.<\/p>\n

We’ve made changes. Some of those changes have been for the better.<\/p>\n

But I won’t let Sixties sensibilities interfere with enjoying and appreciating a song suggesting that America isn’t a complete wash.<\/p>\n

Besides, I think “patriot dreams” make sense. Make that can make sense.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Songs and Pigeonholes<\/h4>\n

\"Scott<\/a>
\n(From Scott Adams, used w\/o permission.)<\/span>
\n(Dogbert’s good news show. Made sense in 1993. Still does.)<\/p>\n

I wouldn’t mind if professor Bates’ song became my country’s national anthem.<\/p>\n

Partly because I think patriot dreams matter at least as much as bombs bursting in air.<\/p>\n

That may need explanation, or maybe not; in any case, I’ll back up about six decades.4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

I was in my teens when McCarthyism’s dying gasps mingled with lyrics like these:<\/p>\n

“…If the mind is baffled
\nWhen the rules don’t fit the game,
\nWho will answer?…”
\n(“Who Will Answer?” Ed Ames (1967<\/a>))<\/p>\n

“…Go ahead and hate your neighbour
\nGo ahead and cheat a friend
\nDo it in the name of heaven
\nYou can justify it in the end….”
\n(“One Tin Soldier<\/a>” Dennis Lambert, Brian Potter (1969<\/a>))<\/p>\n

“…Imagine there’s no countries
\nIt isn’t hard to do
\nNothing to kill or die for
\nAnd no religion too
\nImagine all the people
\nLiving life in peace….”
\n(“Imagine,” John Lennon (1971<\/a>))<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To this day, the words “patriot” and “conservative” register as ‘crazy person lost in yesteryearning’ \u2014 unless I think about it. Which is a reason I make thinking a priority.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a>I don’t call myself a conservative, liberal, libertarian, or whatever: mainly because today’s sociopolitical pigeonholes and my beliefs aren’t a good match.<\/p>\n

I’m a Catholic, so my views on capital punishment, marriage, and staying healthy line up with liberal, conservative, undecided \u2014 and that’s yet another topic. Topics.<\/p>\n

So, being Catholic, can I be a patriot?<\/p>\n

Yes, but it depends on what the word means. I’ll take Merriam-Webster’s definition:5<\/a><\/sup> “one who loves and supports his or her country.”<\/p>\n

<\/a>Love, Faith and Respecting Authority \u2014 Within Reason<\/h5>\n

\"Edison<\/a>Because I’m a Catholic, I should act as if loving God and my neighbors matters. And I should see everyone as my neighbor. No exceptions. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1789)<\/p>\n

That means getting involved in public life \u2014 in whatever ways my culture and circumstances permit \u2014 recognizing humanity’s solidarity, and respecting authority. Within reason. (Catechism, 1778, 1915, 1897-1917, 1939-1942, 2199, 2238-2243)<\/p>\n

That’s easier when my reason and emotions are in sync. But, easy or hard, using my brain is a good idea. (Catechism, 1777-1782)<\/p>\n

Seeing my country’s version of government as something that works is okay.<\/p>\n

Thinking that everyone should be an American? And that America’s constitutional republic with a strong democratic tradition6<\/a><\/sup> is the only proper political system?<\/p>\n

Not so much.<\/p>\n

There isn’t one ‘correct’ form of government. Different cultures and eras have different needs, and that’s okay. (Catechism, 1915, 1957-1958)<\/p>\n

But, getting back to “am I a patriot?”<\/p>\n

On the whole, I like being an American. I think recognizing humanity’s solidarity, doing what I can with my neighbors, and respecting authority \u2014 within reason \u2014 makes sense.<\/p>\n

So, yes: I suppose I’m a patriot.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Washington the Ascended??<\/h4>\n

\"Detail<\/a>
\n(From Constantino Brumidi, via Wikimedia Commons, used w\/o permission.)<\/span>
\n(Detail of the U.S. Capital rotunda’s “The Apotheosis of Washington” fresco. (1865))<\/p>\n

But that emphatically does not mean I think George Washington is a god, sitting between the goddesses of victory and liberty.7<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Or that American presidents execute a divine mandate, trampling Tyranny and Kingly Power while wearing imperial purple.<\/p>\n

Even if I hadn’t become a Catholic, spending my teens in the Sixties would have discouraged the notion.<\/p>\n

Besides, the way Washington the Ascended is holding that blade, I get the impression that he’s about to stab Victory’s leg. And that’s yet another topic.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Celebrations, Somewhat Subdued<\/h4>\n

\"Juneau's<\/a>A bunch of thoroughly fed-up British subjects signed a Declaration of Independence 245 years ago this Sunday.<\/p>\n

I think that’s something to celebrate.<\/p>\n

Even though it touched off a war with an 18th century superpower, and indirectly launched centuries of political squabbling. With the occasional brouhaha and one internal war.<\/p>\n

But here in Minnesota, we’re discouraged from celebrating. With fireworks, that is. There’s a drought in progress, so sparking a wildfire is easier than usual.<\/p>\n