There is something that has always drawn me to France. Something about her people, history, language, attitude and complexity that has always mystified and fascinated me. There are three countries that have captivated me my whole life: Russia, Germany, and France (Ironic that they were the three that opposed the Iraq war). The city of Paris has always been a city that i longed to know. The streets where Romans walked, where Anselm, Abelard, Aquinas, Lous XIV, Rousseau, Voltaire, Picasso, Monet, Debussy, Hugo, Ravel and Charles de Gaulle made their home at one time. The city of lights, the city of love. The city of violence, the city of peace. The city of man, the city of God...We have sterotyped French for a while and most is justified by their arrogance and pompous attitude. We laugh at the pride in their language, and their snooty aristocracy. Today we insult their desire for tolerance and peace. However, once they too were a great nation. And like all great nations, they cannot forget that sense of pride that alone can be theirs. A book that I think people should read is St Gregory's "History of the Franks." I hope that we will once again see their nation turn back to god and be great...but they cannot be great unless they are good. A frenchman once said that about our own great nation. May we, a great nation now, hope to not turn our fists towards god and say we no longer need and want him.
Great nations cannot escape their greatness. Russia, China, Germany, England, Israel, Persia, America, France...many more. They can't hide from it. They can avoid it, run from it, fear it, and abuse it, but it will always be awakened from its slumber. Some nations simply cannot help but lift their heads high. Charles de Gaulle says it in a sentence, "France cannot be France without Greatness."
4 comments:
Vive la France!
I wonder what, in your opinion, makes a nation great. Is a nation great because it is good, as Alexis de Tocqueville once said? If so, what determines a nation's goodness, and by what standard do we judge?
I love this blog. It actually made me think about my nation.. so.. as a result I got homesick :) Got to admit I share this feeling of being captivated by another culture. The depth and history of some culture (pretty much the ones you mentioned here) truly fascinate me.
Oui! Vive la France!
I too have been intrigued by France, since I was a child. I was so intrigued that I chose to study the language (and am trying to relearn somewhat sporadically once again). To me France captures romance, beauty and art (just look at the magnificent architecture)in a way no other nation has. This of course is my opinion and based on what I have seen of France while in the setting of my own country, but true for me nonetheless. I hope I can one day visit this nation that has captured my attention and experience it first hand. Thank you David for giving France a "shout out" in a positive way!
Tres interesant. I agree with Eric - how do we determine a nation's greatness?
Why didn't you add China, India or even Italy?
Which nation is not great? If greatness is living according to the God-given heartbeat of a culture, each nation should be truly great. This doesn't get reflected by political, economic or monetary influence, I think.
I love what you said: A great nation cannot escape its greatness. Those who embrace their greatness can embrace other cultures and countries without feeling threatened or coerce themselves on others.
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