Is this about France? or the USA?

Submitted by Michael S (United States), Jun 7, 2016 at 17:25

An interesting read, Daniel -- an "objective" look at changing French views towards the Muslims in their midst, by someone who is by no means objective in these matters (you). I, being similarly subjective, will try to do something similar here.

First of all, I don't consider the snail-eating, strange-speaking, gesticulating French to be all that different from us "normal" Anglos. I think the world conveniently divides into four areas:

1. The Chinese of Communist China

2. The Indians, plus lackeys in Bhutan and Myanmar,

3. The Russians, plus lackeys in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan and Armenia

4. "The West", consisting of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Bhutan, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Israel, the EU, EFTA and the European microstates of Andorra, Monaco and San Marino

5. the rest

"The West" is not a singular country like Russia or China, but a cluster of nations linked by a common history and defense and travel connections. Its core is the "Group of Ten" (actually 11, after Switzerland joined them) which met in 1964 to save the Pound Sterling and went on to totally revamp the world economic system in 1971 into what it is today:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Ten_%28economics%29

This group has historical roots in Christianity and the Holy Roman Empire; but the inclusion of non-Christian countries like Japan (and the exclusion of Russia and other Christian countries) belies the fact that the "core identity" of the group has changed.

One "core" element of the part of the planed that you and others think of as "us" or "The West" is colonlialism. At the time of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, the "Eight-Nation Alliance"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-Nation_Alliance

already include Japan and the US among its number, along with Russia. All of these were not Christian nor European, but all were colonial powers; and they acted in league with one another (The other great colonial powers were Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium).

The point I'm making here, is that France started out with its native White, Christian identity. By the time of the French Revolution, the Christian identity was abandoned in an anti-clerical, anti-theistic rampage: Christianity was to be replaced by a "Cult of Reason"; and the French even dedicated commandeered cathedrals to the worship of "Reason":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_Reason

Underneath the fog of political correctness, this cult continues as the unofficial "state religion" of the West -- including Japan. The polite term for it is "Secularism". Since "secularism" includes token tolerance of religions, including Christianity, "reason" has been inadequate in unifying The West. Colonialism, on the other hand, has -- to the colonialists themselves, as well as to formerly colonized peoples.

With the French especially, but also with other Westerners, there is a clash of conscience between their identification of a "reason" based on "liberté, egalité, et fraternité" on the one hand, and a colonial foundation on the other: hence, the hopeless French attempt to assimilate Africans and Muslims into "Frenchness".

It goes without saying, that Americans face a similar dilemna concerning Blacks, Mexicans, Muslims, etc.: Those who secretly worship at the "Temple of Reason" try to put on a show that we are all alike; but most Americans know in their guts that we are not. In fact, I'd say your piece here about "the French" is actually about us.

Shalom shalom :-)

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