Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral in Paris, on Oct. 21.LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty Images
A remarkable thing happened last week: the bells of Notre-Dame rang again for the first time since the historic Paris cathedral went up in flames five and a half years ago.
That terrible fire was a cause of great despair, and not just in France. It had been assumed that the broad-shouldered archetype of Gothic architecture, having survived centuries, would dominate the skyline forever. And then it came within inches of being lost.
So it was deeply moving when bells rang in the north belfry last Friday, their tolling a message of hope. Next month, on Dec. 7, a reborn Notre-Dame will open to the public.
That a monument that came so close to destruction is back stronger than ever is a reminder that, even in the darkest moments, despair is not an option. When people band together to fight for what is important, they can overcome adversity that at first seems insurmountable.
It’s worth remembering where France and the world were at on April 15, 2019. It wasn’t exactly a good place.
Paris had been rocked by violent demonstrations led by citizens in yellow vests angry at the policies of President Emmanuel Macron. The country was fragmented and angry.
Around the world, populist leaders on the left and right were fuelling distrust of governments, courts and elections. Britain was tearing itself apart over Brexit. Donald Trump was in his first chaotic presidency, threatening a trade war with China, tweeting his endless insults and putting the NATO alliance in question.
When Notre-Dame caught fire, onlookers could only stare mutely in horror as the spire was reduced to its blackened frame and then toppled live on camera. For a moment, it felt like it might take the entire edifice with it.
But it didn’t. Within days, Mr. Macron announced France would rebuild Notre-Dame in five years. The cathedral’s main structure and foundation were still sound, so there was something to work with. The clashing leaders of the country’s political parties agreed to a truce while the government set about organizing the project.
“I believe deeply that it is up to us transform this catastrophe into an opportunity to come together,” Mr. Macron said, and he has been proven right. The threat of losing a historic institution that many had taken for granted – that people just assumed would always be there – united France in a fierce determination to restore a powerful symbol of its heritage.
The burning spire on the horizon today is the election of Mr. Trump to a second term as president.
It behooves everyone to respect the American voters’ wishes and wait to see where this leads. But while Mr. Trump’s hagiographers and apologists insist that he is not a threat to democracy, his clearly enunciated authoritarian tendencies make it impossible for anyone with eyes to see not to be concerned.
This week, the Republicans cemented their control of Congress when final vote tallies gave them a majority in the House of Representatives to match the one they have in the Senate. Mr. Trump also has in his corner a Supreme Court that has ruled he is immune from prosecution for anything he does under the rubric of official acts.
And he has begun to nominate people to sensitive government positions whose only discernible talents are those of the fawning courtier – the willingness to bow low to their master in order to stay in his good graces.
Like that day in Paris, this is a difficult time. People may feel powerless against the momentum carrying Mr. Trump and his movement.
But like that day in Paris, this is no time for despair. The foundations of democracy are still standing. Americans can and will use them to fight back against the worst of Mr. Trump’s instincts. There are mid-term elections in two years that will hold the Congress to account, and plenty of courts to challenge his diktats.
Don’t forget, too, that other democratic countries – especially in Europe, where people too often have seen strongmen come and go – are not without their own considerable strengths.
The moment is dire but no one is helpless in the face of a man like Mr. Trump. Far from it. Calamities often unite people in defence of their values in ways that make those values stronger than ever. The joyful clanging of Notre-Dame’s bells is your reminder of that.