Fafnir on Fafblog said "monthly is not a very good schedule for a blog." I should change the name of this blog to "Liberalism Quarterly."
A friend on another blog pointed out this op-ed from someone named Bill Saporito:
This is the state of our great republic: We've nationalized the financial system, taking control from Wall Street bankers we no longer trust. We're about to quasi-nationalize the Detroit auto companies via massive loans because they're a source of American pride, and too many jobs — and votes — are at stake. Our Social Security system is going broke as we head for a future where too many retirees will be supported by too few workers. How long before we have national healthcare? Put it all together, and the America that emerges is a cartoonish version of the country most despised by red-meat red-state patriots: France. Only with worse food.You know, we have a long history with France. French help was crucial to our gaining independence. We bought about half the country from France in 1803. We came to the rescue of France in 1917, and liberated it in 1944. We still to an extent treasure the French-Canadian heritage of Louisiana (and the food there is pretty darn good, I would advise Mr. Saporito). French philosophers like Montesquieu contributed to the Enlightenment traditions on which the Founding Fathers based the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. A French sculptor gave us the Statue of Liberty; a French architect helped lay out Washington D.C.
And France was rightly against military adventurism in Iraq.
Yes, we have ample reason to celebrate our long relationship with France. Why not look to them again for ideas on how to create a good society? They've been at it far longer than we have.
2 comments:
I've been to France, and I like US cuisine better. I found the only good food there was Vietnamese. :)
Good idea about looking to France for ideas. The International Herald Tribune had a great piece a year or so ago about how they put together a good health care system. They went to the docs and told them they wouldn't be making so much, but that their med school costs would be eliminated. Then they went to the attorneys and said they would limit their ability to sue. I think that's a great idea, but I'm not so sure the second part would fly over here given the number of lawyers our country has.
Sorry, here's the link:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/13/opinion/eddutton.php
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