Notre Dame Fire and Aftermath

(Image by Tom Stiglich)

I woke up Monday afternoon to get ready for my night shift, only to discover the Notre Dame Cathedral was ablaze.

I've never been to Paris, but like many people, I know the city's landmarks.  And it broke my heart to see this historic church burn.

(Image by Lisa Benson)

Speculation was running high as to the cause, especially since last year 875 catholic churches were vandalized.

I didn't hear this tidbit prior to the Notre Dame fire, but I remained suspicious.  Meanwhile, many folks here in America were saddened to see such a loss, if not as a Christian icon, but at least as a bit of cultural history.

(Image by Gary Varvel)

Well, most people anyway.

Paul Joseph Watson's video on the subject reveals many folks--mostly jihadists and leftists--were happy to see the great cathedral burn.  (This was actually a rebuttal to Buzzfeed's accusation of PJW spreading a hoax).

Rebel Media's Martina Markota deployed to Paris for some on-scene reporting and produced several short videos, touching on the topics of historical loss and possible causes for the blaze.

The Notre Dame fire has also been seen as a metaphor for Western Civilization's moral decay.  Mark Steyn expounded on this theme in his Fire and Faith article.

There's already a cabal of architects and historians that want to see Notre Dame rebuilt--but without being "overburdened" with Christian meaning.

(Image by Steve Kelley)

Mon Dieu, indeed.

It was Comrade Karla who brought this issue to my attention.  My response was: 

I would rather see Notre Dame left alone as a ruin than have it turned into some PC/SJW-approved structure.

While the Battle of Notre Dame is currently a minor skirmish--so far--the good news in all this was no one was hurt, or killed and people put their lives at risk to save priceless artifacts.  Within hours of the fire making world-wide headlines, donations flooded-in, reaching the $700 million mark before the next news cycle.  (I didn't know was that the cathedral was in dire need of renovation in the first place).

Yesterday, French officials said the likely cause of the fire was an electrical short circuit.

After years of citizens on both sides of the Atlantic being subjected to fake news and suppressed news, do I believe their conclusions, especially since officials were quick to dismiss terrorism or vandalism?

For the most part.

I have to have faith in the belief this was truly an accident, especially since it's Easter Weekend...

(Image by Bob Gorrell)

...but I'll still keep my suspicions in the back of my mind.