Want to know what makes me feel all warm inside? French nationals probably should concentrate on their own business, but they just cannot stop writing about (and profiting from) the ever-fascinating Americans. Jean-Francois Revel does it from the opposite angle.
My own thought is that neither form of attention is necessary. One popular complaint about Americans is that we are too inward-looking; making exceptions for omphalopsychites and black holes, a gaze far enough inward often casts your gaze outward, like how cutting a tomato in half slides the knife's blade toward the center and then away from it. America became the sole "superpower" not by aiming to be the greatest nation in the world, but by aiming to be the greatest nation it can be in its own right. The former superpowers lost their statures largely because they did rely on being the world's greatest nations. There are benefits to seeing out by looking in. So, yes, French nationals probably should concentrate on their own business.
Update: Hi. Are you nuts?
Update II: Is that a maybe?
Update III: Hey, No Blood for Cocoa!
Update IV: More on the French Patriot Act.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment