Why section/column need a text_align option separate from content alignment (and why special_heading keeps its master alignment)

The question: When a converted <div class="text-center max-w-2xl mx-auto"><h2>…</h2><p>…</p></div> comes out left-aligned, where does alignment belong? Should we add text_align to the column/section — and if we do, is special_heading's master Alignment option now redundant and safe to remove?

Context

The deterministic Site Converter decomposes a source band into native shortcodes. A common source pattern centers a heading intro on an intermediate wrapper — text-center max-w-2xl mx-auto — that holds the <h2> and its subtitle <p>. The heading recognizer captured the h2's own classes (text-3xl md:text-4xl font-bold), which carry no alignment, so the wrapper's text-center was dropped and the heading rendered left. special_heading already has an alignment option and the mapper already knew how to translate text-center/max-w-*/mx-auto — the classes just never reached it.

That surfaced the real question about layering. The column shortcode has a content alignment (content_h/content_v) option, but that is flexbox cross/main-axis alignment (align-items / justify-content) — it positions block children, it does not set text-align. text-align is a separate, inherited CSS property. So a text-center wrapper holding mixed children (heading + paragraph + buttons + stats) that decompose into sibling shortcodes could not be faithfully centered by any existing option: special_heading can only center itself, and the column's content-alignment is the wrong axis.

Options considered

1. Only fix the heading (read the wrapper's classes into special_heading's alignment). Fixes the reported case, but a centered wrapper with mixed content still can't center its non-heading siblings.
2. Add container-level text_align and REMOVE special_heading's master alignment (treat the container as the single source of truth). Tempting — feels less redundant — but the master alignment is the only way to center one heading inside an otherwise-left column without moving its siblings, and removing a shipped option breaks stored values, presets, and Theme-Builder templates (needs a migration) for no real gain.
3. Add container-level text_align AND keep all the heading alignments, defaulting every level to Inherit so they cascade. (Chosen.)

Decision

• Add a text_align option to section and column, reusing the exact special_heading alignment image-picker (Inherit / left / center / right swatches) for a consistent UI. Default '' = Inherit (emits nothing) → purely additive, no migration, existing presets stay valid.
• Keep special_heading's master Alignment and the per-element (Overline/Title/Subtitle) alignments.
• Fix the heading wrapper-inheritance in the converter so an intermediate text-center/max-w-* mx-auto wrapper's alignment + measure cascade onto the heading it flattens.
• The converter maps a source wrapper's text-* to the nearest container's text_align and leaves the heading master on Inherit, so headings cascade from the container.

Alignment is therefore a four-level Inherit cascade, each level overriding the one above:

Section text_align  →  Column text_align  →  Heading master Alignment  →  Overline/Title/Subtitle

Why

• text_align and content-alignment are different axes. Flexbox align-items/justify-content cannot express inherited text centering; a mixed-content centered wrapper genuinely needs a container-level text_align. It's also a legitimately useful native option beyond the converter.
• The master Alignment is an override, not a redundancy. Container text_align centers everything in the container; the heading master lets one heading differ from its container without touching siblings. Because it defaults to Inherit and text-align inherits, a heading in a centered column auto-centers with the master untouched — and the master is still there when someone wants the override.
• Removing a shipped option is a breaking change (stored values, Preset Library, Theme-Builder templates, a schema migration) for no benefit, since the option isn't actually redundant.
• Consistency: the section/column picker reuses the special_heading swatches, so the whole alignment system looks and behaves the same everywhere.

A related cleanup shipped alongside: the converter no longer dumps inert Tailwind utility classes (text-3xl, font-bold, mangled md:text-4xl / text-foreground/70) onto native heading parts — their visual intent already rides the per-node computed base — while semantic accent utilities (text-primary) and genuinely custom classes are preserved.