A Heated Debate: Notre Dame
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On April 15th, 2019, a devastating tragedy took place in Paris, France. This catastrophic event is the Notre-Dame Cathedral fire. The 850-year-old cathedral that went up in flames resulted in damage costing one to two billion American dollars to repair. Responses from companies, groups, and individuals were made immediately. Support and donations were generously given so that nearly $1 billion had been raised for repairs within one day.
These unselfish acts have struck up debate and controversy. Some people may support the generosity of the wealthy towards the Notre-Dame cathedral, while others think that this outcome reveals something appalling.
A reason why people may think that the abundance of donations to rebuild the cathedral is positive is because it shows the goodness of humanity. What is also made evident is the compassion of people today. This is recognized as something good because in today's world, there are so many incidents involving displays of hatred. Therefore, through seeing people donate large sums of money to benefit a cause in need of help, hope for humanity is seen. I think that this occurrence acts as a reliever for many people because it presents signs of goodness.
Another perspective on the wealthy donating grand amounts of money towards the rebuilding of Notre-Dame is that it shows lack of real concern for the world. This may be the opinion of some because they see the cause as a materialistic issue, and do not see it as the demolition of a historical monument. People who see the huge donations of richer companies, institutions, and individuals as something with less value think that this amount of money can be used for causes that have a greater affect on the world. Examples of causes which people think would benefit more from mass donations are feeding, sheltering, educating, and employing homeless, poor, and lowly people. I think that people would think the actions of the rich are less meaningful because the situation is seen as money going towards a physical structure rather than people in need.
I believe that one's values will affect their opinion on large amounts of money being spent to rebuild the Notre- Dame Cathedral because their response will be determined by the relevance and importance of history and present social issues to a person.
Another perspective on the wealthy donating grand amounts of money towards the rebuilding of Notre-Dame is that it shows lack of real concern for the world. This may be the opinion of some because they see the cause as a materialistic issue, and do not see it as the demolition of a historical monument. People who see the huge donations of richer companies, institutions, and individuals as something with less value think that this amount of money can be used for causes that have a greater affect on the world. Examples of causes which people think would benefit more from mass donations are feeding, sheltering, educating, and employing homeless, poor, and lowly people. I think that people would think the actions of the rich are less meaningful because the situation is seen as money going towards a physical structure rather than people in need.I believe that one's values will affect their opinion on large amounts of money being spent to rebuild the Notre- Dame Cathedral because their response will be determined by the relevance and importance of history and present social issues to a person.
I agree with all of the points you made. As a society, I think we do not focus on the real issues impacting the world. Although I do think that Notre Dame burning down is a tragedy, there will be experts hired and billions of dollars spent to ensure it is repaired. There are many other important issues that should be worked on first, before billions of dollars is spent on repairing an 850 year old cathedral.
ReplyDeleteAs I am someone who had been to the Notre Dame and has a concern for the issues in our societies, your post has really made me feel again the sadness I feel for these two things. When I first went to Paris and into the Notre Dame before its tragedy, I felt so amazed and satisfied with the building's design itself and I just loved the art. With this feeling I would do the same to donate if it had been ruined because I know how ancient the Church is. I have to say that I really agree with you about when you had mentioned that the fact that with the huge amount of money, governments had been donating, it was enough to help the poor people and other issues noted in society. In social media i've seen a post that relates similar to the mention of your donation situation. When i had seen it I was enraged with it and had thought it cruel for governments to actually value a building more than a human life.
ReplyDeleteYou really explained this situation really well. I do too think that Notre Dame is not as significant as other issues going on around the world and although it is a beautiful church it is not as important as people make it out to be. More attention should be brought to things that are impacting our world much bigger.
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