[Photograph from Vintage St. Louis and Route 66, Facebook]

ALAN writes:

I have written thousands of words about what is wrong in the city of St. Louis.  Here is a photograph that shows what was once right about it.

Taken on Easter Sunday, 1947, it shows hundreds of people streaming out of the New Cathedral, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, on Lindell Boulevard in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis.  In 1963, my classmate Carol and I were part of a choir in this Cathedral.

Observe the clean landscape. Observe that these people are grown-ups, not perpetual adolescents. Observe their countenance. Observe the men in suits and ties and serious hats, and the women in dresses and attractive coats and hats. Observe no tee-shirts, blue jeans, or ball caps.

Observe passengers boarding a red Public Service Company bus in the years when bus drivers were courteous enough to make change if requested.

The people in this photograph are not a “diverse” crowd. All of them are white. This is a snapshot of what Christian Civilization once was.

In 2012, 23-year-old Megan Boken was sitting in her car in broad daylight within walking distance of this Cathedral when she was shot and killed by two black thugs. It was a “robbery gone wrong.”

— Comments —

Phillip F. writes:

“The people in this photograph are not a “diverse” crowd. All of them are white. This is a snapshot of what Christian Civilization once was.”

This makes a very subtle statement that few are willing to make.  The picture of the large crowd leaving the church is an indication of another cause of the problems facing our country today.  It would be interesting to see the same picture taken on Easter Sunday of this year.

Thank you so much your website and for your courage to speak out on these issues.  We pray for you and your safety every day.

Please follow and like us: