Self-doubt leaves French feeling down in the mouth
The Scotsman
IT IS official: the French are a nation of depressed pessimists, wracked with self-doubt and unable to see a positive future.
This gloomy portrait of the current state of Gallic morale - or rather the lack of it - was made public yesterday in a damning report by France’s prefects, the country’s top administrators.
I've been laying low on posting this week. Did you notice I was gone? LOL
I've just been quietly observing the inaugural fall out, monitoring what's doing inbetween the personal needs of trying to make a living. For the most part, I really liked the content of the Bush acceptance speech, tho his delivery did little to get my blood racing. But hey... that's not a huge requirement for me. I'll take substance over "rah rah" emotions any day of the week.
The speech generally laid out the Wilson-esque strategy that the more nations that exist with elected gov'ts and freedom, the less garbage dumps... er, countries... are left to provide safe haven for human/cockroach species. It is the only logical way to wage the WoT, and to minimize the impact of violent minorities on the world.
As predicted, there are bemoanings from left pundits and the world community, taking Bush's speech to the extreme. They ignore his "diplomacy and incentives first" statements and portray the Cowboy Prez with defined plans to march to war everywhere there is tyranny. All of them forget the lessons of Libya and Ghadafi, yielding his nuclear programme without a single shot fired after the fall of Saddam.
But what really got me roaring was a totally unanticipated comment INRE the spread of freedoms. French journalist Georges LeClere takes the prize for absolute absurdity with his comment on Hannity & Colmes 1/21/05, paraphrased as "not everyone wants your freedom".
Oh HO... Really now? I had no idea people craved having less freedom. The French care so little for control over their own lives?
So, to my ultimate amusement, I then ran across the above article about Mr. LeClere's homeland, and their antipathy to just about everything.
"The French no longer believe in anything," the report said. "That is the reason that the situation is relatively calm, for they believe that it is not even worthwhile expressing their opinions or trying to be heard any more."
Well now, perhaps Mr. LeClere is right on the money. If the French believe their voices are no longer heard and opt to stay silent, they obviously don't care one whit if they have the freedoms of expression, and powers to influence government, that we enjoy here in the evil US of A. And that is one sad state of affairs.
The country’s 100 prefects went on to use the words "lifelessness", "resignation", "anxiety" and "pessimism" to describe the attitudes they believe prevail in France today.
I suggest that, contrary to Mr. LeClere's proclamation of French resignation, they could use a shot of good ol' fashioned freedoms and a tad more rebellious spirit. Like Iraq, who is experiencing unprecedented economic growth in the wake of the US Coalition liberation , they might find their economic woes improved by their efforts.
A little noticed report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued last November, shows that even now the Iraqi economy is, relatively speaking, performing better than anyone else’s in the Arab Middle East. The report makes a predication that some might find audacious: In the next decade, Iraq could become the engine of growth for the region.
Alas, the French would be hardpressed to accept the US's influence and the spread of such nonsense as freedom. It would, afterall, entail admitting they were oh so wrong.
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