{"id":2394,"date":"2026-09-08T22:35:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T22:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/?p=2394"},"modified":"2026-09-08T22:36:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T22:36:14","slug":"ballrooms-and-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/ballrooms-and-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Ballrooms and Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This piece began as an analysis of the facts and timeline surrounding the demolition of the East Wing of the White House and subsequent proposals to replace it. Despite a dramatic narrative and an ever-growing pile of grandiose claims, the account struggled to adequately capture the absurdity. This limerick emerged from the dust\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ballrooms and Democracy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There once was a man from New York,
Of the proud and bombastic sort,
He dreamed of the chance
To host a big dance,
But alas, needed space to hold court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noble home with patina \u2014 too old,
Craving space for their eyes to behold,
Desire to impress,
One famous address,
Instant upgrade with trinkets of gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now laden with procedure and rules,
Feeble limits on trusty old tools \u2014
Donning a crown,
Just knock it down \u2014
It’s my house. What could they do?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A grand ballroom, because he resents
Lesser parties in little white tents.
Why do they hate me?
It’s basically free \u2014
Just a billion, not worth the lament.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As legal efforts threaten the cause
And suggest an embarrassing pause:
Reposition the brief,
Then suspend disbelief \u2014
Feign national security flaws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some call it productive distraction
To curtail more sinister actions \u2014
The damage is done;
Let him have his fun
While serfs support impotent factions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for a strained nation, defend
The ideals on which we portend \u2014
Facing two more long years,
Constitutional fears,
Till one narcissist shitshow may end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This piece began as an analysis of the facts and timeline surrounding the demolition of the East Wing of the White House and subsequent proposals to replace it. Despite a dramatic narrative and an ever-growing pile of grandiose claims, the account struggled to adequately capture the absurdity. This limerick emerged from the dust\u2026 Ballrooms and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBallrooms and Democracy - Columns - AIA Dallas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/ballrooms-and-democracy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ballrooms and Democracy - Columns - AIA Dallas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This piece began as an analysis of the facts and timeline surrounding the demolition of the East Wing of the White House and subsequent proposals to replace it. 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