So this happened.

The fire at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris is a shocking moment. For those of us who love history, it is a disaster. As I write this, the fire is believed to be a tragic accident related to restoration work being done on the building. (Note the scaffolding in the photograph.)

The fact that an 800-year old building, so important to so many people, can be accidentally gutted in a heartbeat is horrifying to contemplate. Notre-Dame is so old, our lives are as flashes of lightning in a storm by comparison. We naturally assume the cathedral will endure long after we are dust. It seems so solid and mighty, a tangible symbol of French religious devotion. Some might have claimed it was protected by God.

But the reason Notre-Dame endured for eight centuries has less to do with the workmanship of the stonecutters or the faith of the French people than most imagine. Notre-Dame endured for the simple reason that forty generations of French believed it to be important. Whatever else was going on in the life of the nation, enough French people cared to ensure Notre-Dame was preserved. It took forty generations of care to preserve the cathedral; it only took a momentary lapse to lose it.

Americans take pride in their democracy and in their Constitution. We like to believe our Constitution endures because of the genius of our Founders, and that democracy, freedom, and equality are rooted so deeply in American culture that an America without them is unthinkable. Some might claim it is protected by God.

We are wrong. As with Notre-Dame, our democratic institutions endured not because of the workmanship of the Founders or the values of the American people. They endured for the simple reason that eleven generations of Americans believed them to be important. Whatever else was going on in the life of the nation, enough Americans cared about our democracy to preserve it.

But don’t be fooled by the seeming strength of the edifice. Eleven generations of preservation can be undone in a momentary lapse. If you seek proof, you need look no farther than Notre-Dame.