Two Americas

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Observe. To the left is Horatio Greenough's infamous sculpture of George Washington, commissioned in 1832 for display in the capital rotunda. Received with disgust by the people, it was so heavy that it cracked the floor of the rotunda when it was installed. While many saw it as inappropriately deifying Washington, the pose was intended to show, rather, his colossal act of humility in relinquishing his sword – pointing to the greater power above as the guiding force for future generations. That Greenough took the Roman model as his inspiration is hardly surprising. The United States made excessive use of architecture and symbols of Roman Imperial power, including fasces, for decades following the Revolution. (And yet, while Greenough's Washington now resides in a dreary hall in the basement of the Smithsonian, other examples of Roman pedigree are still proudly displayed.) In many ways, this sculpture represents the modern Democratic Party. It exudes an unintentional devotion to elitism, a passion for antiquated philosophies and a secular glorification of humanity.

The photo on the right is self explanatory. A hefty woman in sweatpants doing something unseemly to a statue of a lumberjack. Very GOP. A thousand words could never do it justice.

RELATED: I highly recommend Garry Wills' book Cincinnatus: George Washington and the Enlightenment, subtitled Images of Power in Early America. Excellent stuff. Although I'm coming to view Washington as having less in common with Cincinnatus than with Theodosius I, who assumed the Imperial Purple after a retirement more of choice than of poverty, and to whom is ascribed the inauguration of what is now known as the theory of [religious] persecution. But that's another discussion entirely.