American Beauty?—The Beast, the Serpent, and the Naked Woman

Now let us move a little closer to home, back to the United States of America. Every citizen, it seems, wishes at one time or another to tour our nation's illustrious capital, Washington, D.C., with its rich store of history and tradition. Having been taught practically from birth that ours is a Christian nation, founded on biblical values, what might the visitor discover in his brief tour of this great city on the Potomac River?

Starting first at the Library of Congress, our visitor comes upon a scene that sets his mind a'roaring. His eyes behold the great Fountain. What is that he sees? Could it be? Yes, it is—a hideous, green, horned beast rising from the waters of chaos. The beast is surrounded by demonic dolphins and other sea creatures. A vicious sea-spitting serpent is his companion. To his right there is a wild and tempestuous naked woman in stone, a sea nymphet astride a horse, a horse driven stark, raving mad.

Who, or what, wonders our visitor, does this beast and his companions represent? What is this monstrosity doing poised at the entrance to one of America's most magnificent buildings, the Library of Congress, said to house the "collective wisdom" of the people of the United States, acknowledged widely as the world's only remaining superpower?