Rebuilding begins.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1951.

The spire of Notre Dame is now no more, and can be dimly glimpsed in HC-B’s magnificent, evocative image taken over 60 years ago. Notre Dame cathedral is truly ground zero in Paris as all distances are measured from its location.

There have already been stories in the press about French billionaires pledging untold monies to rebuild Notre Dame cathedral. Color me skeptical. Guys who made their money hawking handbags and perfume are not what I would call reliable sources of capital. Show me the money.

On the other hand, had Jefferson and Adams not spent formative years in Paris and had they not imported the French constitution to the shores of revolutionary America, there would be no American republic. And without the help of the French military, the colonizing British could not have been kicked out by Washington’s forces. And we need the French design of separation of powers more than ever in the United States which has seen fit to elect a cruel uncaring pig to the highest office in the land, one seeking to destroy the very constitution he is pledged to uphold and defend. A common criminal.

So it is to America that France should look for money to rebuild the great symbol of personal freedom in the Western world. And for America to raise the billion dollars needed to rebuild Notre Dame cathedral as a gift to a nation to which we owe so much, that is a trivial effort.

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