BY: DAIMAN TEER for THE SIMPLETON STAR
There is something almost comical about the latest thing that has sent the American Left into a full-scale emotional meltdown: a ballroom at the White House. Not a war. Not a tax increase. Not a new federal bureaucracy. A ballroom. Apparently, the very idea of having an elegant, magnificent room where the President of the United States can entertain kings, presidents, prime ministers, diplomats and other dignitaries has become another reason to scream about Donald Trump.
And I have to ask: What the frock is wrong with these purple haired misfits?
BY THE WAY: Google, a subversive arm of the Communist Chinese Government, will never produce a picture of the previously deserted and dilapidated East Wing before its ballroom restoration began because that’s how Google operates. They sanitize and hide everything. Google is why the USA cannot have nice things, but Iran can. Please stop using them – but bookmark my page first.
The United States is supposedly the greatest nation on Earth, yet for generations the White House has lacked a large permanent space capable of hosting major formal events. The White House itself says presidents and administrations have wanted such a space for more than 150 years. The existing East Room seats roughly 200 people, while the proposed ballroom is designed for approximately 650.
So what exactly is the outrage?
Apparently, we are supposed to be embarrassed by the idea of America having something beautiful.
The Left’s reaction to this project is fascinating because it reveals something much deeper than opposition to construction. They don’t merely object to the mechanics of the project, the complete revamping of the East Wing, the cost or the legal questions surrounding it. Those are legitimate subjects for debate. What I find particularly revealing is the almost visceral hostility toward the idea itself: that the White House should have a magnificent ballroom worthy of the United States of America.
Imagine, for a moment, that Barack Obama had proposed it. I can see it already. It would be designed to look a giant Brooklyn subway car – emblazoned by inner city spray paint art and twerking trans dancers, That’s not racism, that is exactly what would be happening. Spike Lee would preside over the design — that is what would be happening – and it would be a grand and event full of pride and pomp.
Can you imagine the coverage? The glowing magazine spreads. The breathless architectural reviews. The photographs of chandeliers, marble, polished floors and elegant state dinners. We would have heard about America’s historic return to grandeur. We would have been told that Obama understood the importance of symbolism, diplomacy, culture and the majesty of the presidency.
“Finally,” the headlines might have said, “the White House has a proper ballroom.”
But because Donald Trump wants one, suddenly it is a vanity project.
That’s the part that stinks.
And yes, I understand the argument about preserving historic buildings. I understand that reasonable people can debate whether the East Wing should have been demolished and whether the project should have required additional congressional approval. Those questions deserve arguments based on facts rather than political hysteria. There are already legal challenges (failed) surrounding the project. But those questions are completely different from the bizarre notion that somehow beauty itself is offensive.
The White House is not a Motel 6.
It is the home and official workplace of the President of the United States. Foreign leaders come there. State dinners happen there. History happens there. Why shouldn’t America have an extraordinary room in which to receive extraordinary guests?
The White House says the new ballroom will be approximately 90,000 square feet and will be designed in a style intended to complement the existing architecture. That doesn’t sound like an assault on civilization to me. It sounds like somebody finally decided that the most powerful nation on Earth ought to have a proper place to put on a spectacular event.
And here’s my theory: the Left has developed a mental block against beauty, grandeur and achievement when those things are associated with the wrong people.
They don’t want magnificent.
They want mediocre or ghetto or trans-influenced.
They don’t want grandeur.
They want coarse, crude, guilt-ridden JUNK!
They don’t want America walking into a room and looking like America.
They want somebody standing outside the room explaining why having a beautiful room is somehow morally offensive.
That’s what I see happening here. And frankly, I’m tired of pretending I don’t see it.
There is nothing inherently immoral about beauty. There is nothing shameful about craftsmanship. There is nothing wrong with wanting America’s presidential residence to possess a magnificent room. The United States has built skyscrapers, bridges, cathedrals, museums, monuments and entire cities that make the rest of the world stop and stare.
Why should the White House be different?
Perhaps the real offense isn’t the ballroom.
Perhaps the real offense is the possibility that America might actually look beautiful again.
BIBLE VERSE
“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time.” — Ecclesiastes 3:11
WHY I CHOSE THIS VERSE
I chose this verse because beauty is not something the Bible treats as a sin. Beauty is part of creation itself. There is a difference between vanity and taking legitimate pride in creating something magnificent. A nation can build something beautiful without worshiping the building.
The White House is a symbol of the United States. If we are going to invite the leaders of other nations into that house, why shouldn’t we welcome them into a place that reflects the history, confidence, craftsmanship and greatness of the country they are visiting?
Maybe we have become so accustomed to apologizing for America that even a beautiful room makes some people uncomfortable.
I don’t intend to apologize.
THE PRAYER
Lord,
Help us remember that beauty, craftsmanship and excellence are not things we should be ashamed of. Give us the courage to build, create and preserve things worthy of the generations that come after us. Help us recognize the difference between legitimate criticism and hatred born from political bitterness.
And when we see our nation accomplishing something magnificent, let us have the wisdom to appreciate it rather than automatically searching for a reason to condemn it.
Give America the confidence to stand tall, the humility to recognize its imperfections, and the strength to keep building something better.
Amen.
