Reclaiming paradise

Spring - An experience in immortality.

--Henry David Thoreau

Speak to the Earth, and it shall teach thee.
--Job 12:8

The shift of colonial power from European monarchy to global corporation is perhaps the dominant theme of modern history. All along, it has been the same story of the gathering of an exploitive economic power into the hands of a few people who are alien to the places and the people they exploit. Such an economy is bound to destroy locally adapted agrarian economies everywhere it goes, simply because it is too ignorant not to do so. And it has succeeded precisely to the extent that it has been able to inculcate the same ignorance in workers and consumers.

--Wendell Berry

France and the United States share a long and complex history. The Declaration des Droits des Hommes was inspired by our own American constitution. Our Statue of Liberty was of course a gift from the French in commemoration of the centennial of our independence. American soldiers landed in Normandy in 1944 on the way to liberating the majority of French territory occupied by Nazi Germany at the time. France has the world's 2nd largest agricultural export economy in the world behind the United States'.


There are other similarities one might wish for. Here in Europe the level of political discourse, while far from ideal, is far more diverse and informative than anything in America. Western European social democracies, an unutterable political concept for Americans, continue to insist on universal health care of equal quality to the American system at a far lesser price. Abolition of the death penalty is a requisite condition for membership in the European Union. This in countries which have long since distanced themselves spiritually and legally from their corrupt and marginalized religious institutions.


There are other things Europeans, particularly the French, do not excel at. In general, there is a level of cynicism or perhaps resignation amongst French intellectuals and society at large in regards to ideas outside their cultural history. This is certainly normal in all countries. But in my experience there exists in America the possibility for a more profound and diverse level of exploration personally be it in the sciences or the arts. This exploration of course by no means attracts the interest or support of the vast majority of Americans. It is however in my opinion true that the most progressive and relevant thinkers in this age tend to be produced within the framework of the English-speaking world.


Should you find this encouraging, do not forget that for every great system of insight or thinker of import, there is a mountain of idiocy standing between them and the earnest seeker. The amazing thing it seems is that Americans for the most part are quite happy to defend at all costs the essential right of these idiot fear-mongers and hucksters to do everything in their power to increase the torrent of unmitigated nonsense that fills up the lives and space of the already over-worked American citizen.


A few examples: America has the best health care system in the world. A fact readily reflected in the skyrocketing levels of obesity, cancer, heart disease and the quasi-impossibility to secure insurance at reasonable fees if at all. Another example: America is the greatest force for democracy and good in the world. Once again backed up by our two atomic bombs dropped on civilian populations (the only two in history), our well-documented support of death squads in Central America in the 1980's, and the continued assault on America's economy and moral decency in Iraq and Afghanistan.


On the one year anniversary of our arrival here in France, I'd like to send a word of encouragement to every sensible American crushed daily under the insane rhetoric and political stasis under which our nation labors painfully on. While there is much to prefer in the European political and social structure, America alone can lay claim to its unique species of genius and rugged intellectual rigor. This still-young democracy, inspired by the best elements of the Enlightenment, offers much to the earnest seeker. May you all still find the courage to go forth in its pursuit, in the hopes of a brighter, saner tomorrow.