“Why can’t we build what they built? Because we don’t believe what they believed. It’s not an issue of technical ability” wrote Alan Cornett.
Nothing calls to mind the fall of Western beauty and architecture more than the recently unveiled Martin Luther King statue in Boston. It is a fitting example of the loss of beauty that was once found in our nation and across the Western world – and of the decadence that replaced it. Reviving the American and Western identity requires the revival of beautiful architecture. For the purposes of this article, specific designs are not necessary. Suffice it to say, however, classical, gothic, baroque, neoclassical, victorian, and other architectural variations are the ideal.
We should begin with the truth that there are, in fact, objective standards of beauty. Consider it a part of the “wisdom of repugnance.” The simple matter of fact is that some things are beautiful and others are ugly. Beautiful, classical architecture implies standards. It implies, above all, that we aspire to something higher, that being God. Modernity, particularly through brutalist architecture, has destroyed this vision. When we look outside and see utilitarian warehouses, we lose our sense of humanity. None of this can eclipse the natural beauty of classical architecture. When we look to something beautiful, we can aspire to greater things.
In a similar fashion, as Michael Knowles asserts, modern architecture is much like Babel; the taller the building, the more godless it is. When man sits in a high tower, looking down, he is inclined to think he is God, able to order society and his fellow man however he pleases. However, when man looks up to tall and beautiful structures, he begins to understand that there are bigger, more powerful, and more important things than his own will.
In this sense, we must recognize the truth of the opening quote: the reason we cannot build what our ancestors built is because we no longer have the faith they had. We no longer have communities. Rather, we are individuals, always building our own ends as our own gods. The moment we stopped believing was the moment we stopped building, and without faith, we cannot build.
The examples of what we have lost to modernity are endless, but I would like to highlight just a few of my favorites, particularly from the United States: New York City’s gothic architecture, our once great train stations, and the Chicago World’s Fair. To that end, we must never forget how beautiful our nation once was.
And thus comes our need to rebuild. We must believe, and without a doubt, we will rebuild. It will take time and it will certainly happen slowly – our civilization was not built overnight. However, we should take the time that we have been given to ensure that what we build is not only beautiful, but done with purpose, all the way from the local to national level. The question should be: What is the reason we are building? Is it simply a means to an end, or are we expressing our faith as a civilization? When one hears the song “America the Beautiful,” they may think only of our beautiful landscape, but in a certain way, as that too disappears, we might take it as a sign of providence to ensure our whole nation is beautiful once again. After all, as Tyler Wolfe has quoted, “the ruins of Christendom are more glorious than the heights of modernity.”
William Benson
William Benson is an undergraduate student at The Catholic University of America pursuing a degree in politics with a concentration in political theory. He serves on the executive board of Catholic University College Republicans and is a columnist and editor at Lone Conservative.
The views expressed in this article are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Lone Conservative staff.
@williamgbenson
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