Edition No. 28
In this Edition
Arts and Culture
The Louvre in Paris closed its doors early last year as the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic. A year later, they have unveiled their new online database, featuring over 400,000 pieces of art. Virtual and free to view.
Community and Family
We invite you to view Abandonded Detroit, a documentary that shares the unique and rare images of some of Detroit’s most rundown buildings. And offers a refreshing perspective on the comeback of the city.
American Democracy
This week, we consider some recent articles and statements about opposition to proposed and enacted changes to state election laws, in the wake of the 2020 election.
Paris' Louvre Goes Virtual
Like many museums and institutions, the COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted the Louvre in Paris. Closed doors and tight travel restrictions meant fewer visitors could experience the wonder of art housed within its four walls. Unlike many of its counterparts, The Louvre never jumped on the trend of virtual exhibits or digital galleries…until now!
Just last month, the Louvre put almost all its collection online, completely free to view. Featuring 482,000 works of art, virtual visitors can now view paintings, sketches, and sculptures from around the world…and yes, you can even view The Mona Lisa! So, while you may not yet be able to visit France, you can spend hours upon hours viewing and appreciating art from one of the world’s most famous museums.
Louvre museum in Paris.
People in Louvre museum.
About The Louvre’s Online Database
The database for the Louvre’s collections consists of entries for more than 480,000 works of art that are part of the national collections and registered in the inventories of the museum’s eight curatorial departments (Near Eastern Antiquities; Egyptian Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Paintings; Medieval, Renaissance and Modern Sculpture; Prints and Drawings; Medieval, Renaissance and Modern Decorative Arts), those of the History of the Louvre department, or the inventories of the Musée National Eugène-Delacroix, administratively attached to the Louvre since 2004. The Collections database also includes so-called ‘MNR’ works (Musées Nationaux Récupération, or National Museums Recovery), recovered after WWII, retrieved by the Office des Biens et Intérêts Privés and pending return to the legitimate owners. A list of all MNR works conserved at the Musée du Louvre is available in a dedicated album and may also be consulted in the French Ministry of Culture's Rose Valland database. Lastly, the Louvre Collections database includes information on works on long-term loan from other French or foreign institutions such as the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the Petit Palais, the Fonds National d'Art Contemporain, the British Museum, and the archaeological museum of Heraklion.
Abandoned Detroit — The City Of Neglect
It’s no secret that Detroit has had its fair share of challenges. A city often disregarded, scrutinized, and criticized has faced a long uphill battle for many years. And one of the most tangible and physical representations of that struggle is the sheer amount of abandoned and dilapidated buildings found throughout the city.
The abandoned Michigan Central Station in Detroit, USA.
Enter Abandoned Detroit: The City of Neglect. A documentary produced in partnership with Abandoned Central, which shares a rare and unique look at the skeleton of a city that is rising from the ashes. The documentary follows Detroit Unseen, an urban explores who travels the country to explore, photograph, and document abandoned buildings. Documenting the City of Detroit for over thirteen years, Detroit Unseen has captured the beauty of Detroit architecture from demolished ruins to renovated and restored masterpieces. This hour-long documentary gives the viewers a refreshing perspective: Detroit was once a city on the verge of extinction, and now at this moment in time, is very much making a name for itself as a prominent metropolis making an incredible comeback. The documentary challenges viewers to not see abandonment and urban decay as a negative; they tell the history and story of the city and allow us to appreciate its majestic beauty. Featured in the documentary are stories of some of Detroit’s most famous buildings: Cass Tech High School, Mark Twain Library, the Grande Ballroom, and of course, the Michigan Central Train Station.
When Does Securing The Vote Become Suppressing The Vote?
For nearly 30 weeks, American Democracy content has been appearing here without controversy. That may change this week as we consider some recent articles and statements about opposition to proposed (Michigan) and enacted (Georgia) changes to state election laws. While we are not in business to generate controversy, nothing is as fundamental to American Democracy as voting and that makes this an issue we simply cannot ignore.
Despite no plausible evidence of significant election fraud in 2020, a part of the American political spectrum continues to insist that fraud is real, widespread, and can only be addressed by making it more difficult to vote. While the original promoters of that view may have been more cynical than sincere, fraud claims have been repeated so frequently that a not insignificant number of people now sincerely believe that there was indeed fraud. Standing on the other side of the question, and rejecting both premise and prescription, are election experts from both parties, mainstream media, a variety of advocacy groups, and, interestingly, a growing portion of the American business community. At the links below, you will find material exploring growing business community involvement in this issue.
Georgia
In Georgia, changes to that state’s election laws many believe tantamount to voter suppression have not merely been proposed, they have been enacted. In response, major Georgia-based corporations including Coca-Cola and Delta have come out against the changes, and Major League Baseball has moved its 2021 All Start Game from Atlanta to Denver. In the paper’s April 12 edition, Amy Gardner and DeBonis from the Washington Post delved into the politics of recent Georgia elections, broadly summarized the changes that a 98-page Republican-backed bill made to Georgia election law, considered how both popular and corporate opposition to those changes emerged in Georgia, and, lastly, explored how similar measures and organized opposition to those measures is spreading to other states. Click or tap here to read the full article.
“The fast-moving drama reveals just how powerful and combustible the issue of voting has become in U.S. politics — and how fraught it appears to be for Republicans contending with the legacy of Trump’s attacks on the 2020 election.” – Washington Post.
Michigan
On Monday, April 12, the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce joined a growing list of business groups and corporations taking a position on the fairness of the 2020 Election and, more specifically, on changes to Michigan election law currently being proposed. In its statement, the Detroit Chamber expressed confidence in the fairness of Michigan’s 2020 Election. “The 2020 election was well executed, fair, and lacked meaningful levels of voter fraud. Therefore, changes to voting rules and processes must be made carefully and not create unreasonable impediments for voters.” The Chamber also stated that it “… will oppose measures that, on balance, unreasonably impact our members and their employees’ ability to exercise the franchise – especially measures with a disproportionate impact on communities of color and those less affluent – without providing needed integrity and security.” Click or tap here to gain full access to the statement from the Detroit Regional Chamber.
Nation
Hundreds of leaders of corporations and major law firms as well as celebrities from across the US joined in a letter published as a newspaper advertisement opposing discriminatory voting restrictions. Click or tap here to view the full advertisement that appears in an article from NBC News.
So, Where Do We Go From Here?
At this point, arguing that charges of fraud are not truthful seems almost beside the point. Because of the circular logic of any conspiracy theory, the lack of evidence of fraud only makes the claim that there was fraud more convincing to those inclined to believe. So, rather than wasting time running in that circle, we hope our readers might instead ask themselves a more fundamental question:
Unqualified persons voting, or otherwise legitimate voters voting more than once, because the process is insufficiently secure?
Qualified voters not being able to successfully vote because the process has been made too burdensome?
Once people know where they truly stand on that single question, it becomes much easier for each to determine where they should then stand on any and all proposed changes to our election laws.
Inspired Thoughts is a collection of highly curated content that embraces the spirit and purpose of The War Memorial: arts and culture, community enrichment, leadership, and patriotism.
Derived from the notion that learning from others is the key to success, Inspired Thoughts is meant to shine a light on those making a difference in the world around them. This collection features artists, poets, writers, architects, and every thought leader in-between. Inspired Thoughts is the strongest reflection of what The War Memorial stands for, and what we aim to be.
The content featured on Inspired Thoughts is curated by War Memorial leadership — we also look forward to featuring special guest curators in the near future. If you are interested in providing content for Inspired Thoughts, please email our Communications team at jkaminski@warmemorial.org.