> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of Gautam Mukunda
... > The French acted the way they did > because that was in consonance with their perception > of French interests. The Germans the same. The > goodwill meant jack shit to them, because "Gratitude > is the virtue of dogs" (Joseph Stalin) and they > believe that, even if we don't. Or do you see many > signs of gratitude in French public opinion? Any? > The Americans who get spat on in France nowadays - how > many of those Frenchmen remember Omaha Beach. You're way, way off here, Gautam. Have you spent any time getting to know people in France, especially people who are over the age of 40 or so? I have been quite astonished at the gratitude they express to Americans. Among the younger people, it isn't quite as passionate, but it is often there, learned from their parents. Cindy and I got engaged in Paris and we spent the following week with the Pelletiers, a family who we know because my father befriended Jean Pelletier when my dad served in the Army Air Corps in WWII. Jean was a teenager then, my dad was in his mid-20s (and in harm's way far often than I ever knew until just recently -- it seems my father lied to me about his combat experience so as not to glorify war to a child). The Pelletiers treated us better than anyone ever has when I've been a houseguest. Everywhere we went -- and we went many, many places that week -- when people learned we were American, the thank-yous came quickly. In the town of Chablis, a winemaker began saying thank-you and I suddenly realized he wasn't talking about WWII, he was talking about how California sent cuttings to France when the vineyards had to be burned due to a fungus. And of course, California got their cuttings from France! Anyway, if you imagine that there is no gratitude left in France for its liberation in WWII, you're out of touch. It is there and it is absolutely strong. If there is a strong negative emotion toward the United States that is commonplace among the French, it is resentment that we often try to impose our culture on theirs, taking our superiority for granted. See how very, very differently you are treated in France if you refuse to speak any French v. if you try even a little bit. I've even had waiters mock "ugly Americans" to *me* for their failure to even show interest in speaking the local language, and those waiters certainly knew that I was an American. Nick _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
