Saturday, August 28, 2010

Restoring Honor 08/28/10

Thoughts from the Side of the Reflecting Pool

08/28/10
Here I am at the rally. Photo by T. Barbour.

At today's Restoring Honor Rally, Glenn Beck pointed out the scar in the Washington Monument. Far down the reflecting pool, the mighty obelisk rises as a pure form of ancient architecture. Look closer and you see a change in the stone color, about a quarter of the way up the Monument.

That 'scar' marks the point where work was stopped as North and South fought the War between the States. This bloody conflict might well have ended the American experiment... but the Nation survived and became the great Nation we live in today. When work was resumed on the Monument, the builders went back to the original quarry but were unable to match the marble exactly. The change in color bears silent testimony to one of our most perilous times.

Beck asked the thousands listening to him to look beyond the scars of our differences and see the good that is in our Nation.

Joined by Governor Sarah Palin and Dr. Alveda King [neice of the great Civil Rights Leader], Beck led a call back to the foundations of good in our Nation... the sure step to do the right thing when no one is looking, the value of individual honor in service to one's fellows.

Aaron Copeland's 'Fanfare for the Common Man' played over the Reflecting Pool as the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity were celebrated. That piece had become a theme piece as I visited the Memorial on the July 4th weekend. It was on Xaver Wilhelmy's demonstration DVD played on the glass organ pipes! It was a nice departure from the 'Rocky' theme as I trotted up the steps of the Memorial to watch the morning light illuminate the shrine to Lincoln.

Now it became the theme for honoring people who exemplified the virtues.

Under the trees lining the Reflecting Pool, ordinary Americans came together to affirm the foundations of this country's greatness.

08/28/10

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