Bush backers shun all things French
Ah, hell, why don't we just invade them and get it over with? Too many people are wasting too much political energy on the equivalent of a pissing contest. While I hardly support the position on the French government on Iraq, I cannot fathom why we wouldn't just ignore them.
In Florida's Palm Beach County, Commissioner Aaronson wants a non-binding council resolution calling for the "freedom fry" to replace the French fry. That, he believes, will expose French ingratitude for U.S. lives lost in World War Two.
"If it wasn't for the Americans, the French would be speaking German on the streets of Paris," Aaronson said.
Political rebranding is nothing new. During World War One, Americans renamed sauerkraut "Liberty Cabbage" and even came up with more patriotic names for diseases such as German measles.
Look, if we're expecting gratitude for saving Europe's collective ass in WWII, it's time for an attitude adjustment. We did what was the right thing to do at that time, and what was in OUR best interest. Whether or not France appreciates what we did or is grateful for it is beside the point. A healthy and stable Europe was held to be in our political and economic best interest. Outside of that fact, perhaps we might have let Europe burn. Who knows? Gratitude would be nice, but expecting it is a recipe for disappointment.
Of course, two can play this game, and now the French are turning the tables.
But in France, some are calling for their own boycotts.
The deputy mayor of Pontoise, Pascal Bourdou, said 150 young athletes should shun a sports event in Scotland because of the British government's unflinching support for Bush.
Britain's Daily Mail quoted Bourdou as saying: "As a French citizen in solidarity with (President) Jacques Chirac's position I have the right to refuse to send 150 adolescents to a country resounding to the sound of marching boots."
Can't we all just get over ourselves already? Disagree if you must, but why waste energy on the political equivalent of spitting into the wind?
