It is the same with still water. You look upon the surface and see a mirror image of the sky above. If birds or aeroplanes fly above the water you will see them too.
Back in 1922, in Washington D.C., a very large reflecting pool was completed between The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial. I suppose its fundamental purpose was to reflect those two stone edifices - endowing them with even greater visual significance and drama.
It was there by that reflecting pool that The People's March on Washington terminated on August 28th, 1963 to listen to Martin Luther-King delivering his iconic "I have a dream" speech. A speech by a reflecting pool that reflected the state of civil rights in America at that time. Later that decade, anti-Vietnam war protesters in their thousands reflected upon a pointless war by that same reflecting pool.
You can see that the Washington reflecting pool is not just a place for literal reflection - like a bathroom mirror, it is also a place for a more figurative kind of reflection about the state of the nation, wars, civil rights and suchlike.
And so we arrived at April 2026. Probably on a whim, the current president of the USA decided that he would have the famous reflecting pool renovated ahead of Independence Day celebrations that would mark America's 250th birthday.
He wanted to see clear water and a bottom surface that might be described as "American blue".
The job was rushed and ill-considered. Contractors did not have to bid for the work. Instead they were simply appointed by the president - trashing normal protocols. It was a case of "jobs for the boys" with one of the lead contractors being one of the president's Mar-a-Lago neighbours down in Florida.
Almost as soon as the upgraded reflecting pool was reopened it began to deteriorate. Algae bloomed rapidly and the floor coating began to peel away. The failure of the hugely expensive project was absolutely down to bad and rushed workmanship . Of course it did not help that a presidential cavalcade drove over the empty reflecting pool in May. This probably caused damage to the recent paintwork.
The reflecting pool that the current president sought to renovate remains murky and green with algae blooming. It's like the water in the nearby river basin which feeds it. And there is no sign of the American blue paint that the president was desperate to see. Nobody cut the new surface on the pool floor and there was no sabotage. The embarrassing failure of the project was down to pressure of time, an absence of proper professional advice and research, inappropriate materials and shoddy workmanship.
The reflecting pool accurately reflects America's current political malaise under the leadership of a reality TV host with an enormous ego. The story contains blatant lies, superficial yearnings, cruelty, unjustified accusations, lack of apology and an obsession with the appearance of things rather than fundamental truths.
The pool is like a poem with physical form. Stubbornly, it still mirrors what is going on. They tried to make it clean and sparkling blue but instead its reflection remains unchanged and familiar as Abraham Lincoln's pinnacle looks down accusingly on the hideousness of the current government with its self-obsessed, lazy and terribly ignorant leader
That's a good analogy. The pool is spoiled and ugly as it reflects the spoiled and ugly.
ReplyDeleteLooking into the mirror reverses the subject? That man should have learnt by now that everything he touches does not immediately turn to gold! See there is a god somewhere.
ReplyDeleteWell said Sir Neil.
ReplyDeleteCertainly reflects the current state of the USA. Muddied, cracked and needing an overhaul.
ReplyDeleteJames Jones stood at the Civil War Memorial in Washington and said to
ReplyDeletehis friend William Styron, * Those men died for nothing. *
The Wall of Honor, representing the Civil War dead, has 209, 145 names.
The vast majority were black soldiers who fought for the Union Army.
Jones fought and was wounded at Guadalcanal, with the 25th Infantry Division.
Styron served with the U.S. Marines in the Pacific, reaching Okinawa.
He and Styron were in Washington for a reception given by President Kennedy.
* To Reach Eternity - The Letters of James Jones * - Random House, 1989.
Another commentary on the trashiness of the Regime.
ReplyDeleteSpot on! MAGA America, behold thyself.
ReplyDeleteGood post. All quite true. Everything that represents the dreams the US was built on is being destroyed- literally and figuratively.
ReplyDeleteThe wonderful corrupt Donald - pardons 1200+ people who stormed the capital, tears up the JCPOA because he wanted a better “deal”, has a “little excursion” into Iraq and effectively shuts the Straits of Hormuz, complains about the person who said there wasn’t enough evidence against Hearn, sells early access to Truth Social for $100,000 a month!
ReplyDeleteI could go on. It is so depressing that people voted for this man and the system cannot stop him
They CAN stop him, they CHOOSE not to because of the money and power THEY get, which will do them no good at all when the downfall inevitably happens.
DeleteYou hit the nail on the head there.
ReplyDeleteA completely accurate description of the state of Trumplandia. As I understand it, the case against David Hearn may be revived, as Jeanine Pirro has asked for a special grand jury to be empaneled at the president's request. Trump will never let go of this.
ReplyDeleteHe ruins most things he touches.
ReplyDelete