figuring out the French
Read the article the social science teacher gave me on class/ethnic conflict in France. He is concerned that the US way of parsing people out by race is invading France, where they supposedly don't have the concept as much. As a result, working and middle classes, once united in an effort to hold their own against the ruling classes, start hating eachother and let the rich people walk all over them while they fight amongst themselves. Or rather, if we blame problems on race, a rather hazy concept to begin with, we can't really solve them, while economic disparities are relatively easy to deal with.
I can see his point. However, in my American Culture-mindedness, I can't help thinking that France and America have different approaches to the problem based on their histories, and both seem to be lacking something.
France is the land of liberté, EGALITE, fraternité. Which is to say that lower classes fighting for equality with upper classes is accepted and praised as living up to the ideals of the republic. However, (and I keep running across this problem in books dealing with men and women saying égalité between the two is a recipe for distaster when I know they aren't saying then women aren't worth as much as men or vice versa) they often fail to distinguish between "equal" and "like."
On the other extreme, America is the land of the melting pot. Salad bowl is a better metaphor. Whereas the writer of the article boasts that French immigrants become homogenized plain old French within a few generations, that happily their family structures break down and they fit in with all the other French, we wear tee-shirts proudly proclaming our Irish heritage, even if was five generations back. If you you talk with your hands, it's because you're Italian (or your great-grandfather was). My grandparent's parents came from Poland and we still have a traditional Polish dinner every Christmas Eve. For the most part, say what you like of hard core conservatives, we're proud of our diversity. And we're all for equality- in therory. I don't know if we can say we're as committed to it as the French, though.
We have a ways to go. Both of us.
I can see his point. However, in my American Culture-mindedness, I can't help thinking that France and America have different approaches to the problem based on their histories, and both seem to be lacking something.
France is the land of liberté, EGALITE, fraternité. Which is to say that lower classes fighting for equality with upper classes is accepted and praised as living up to the ideals of the republic. However, (and I keep running across this problem in books dealing with men and women saying égalité between the two is a recipe for distaster when I know they aren't saying then women aren't worth as much as men or vice versa) they often fail to distinguish between "equal" and "like."
On the other extreme, America is the land of the melting pot. Salad bowl is a better metaphor. Whereas the writer of the article boasts that French immigrants become homogenized plain old French within a few generations, that happily their family structures break down and they fit in with all the other French, we wear tee-shirts proudly proclaming our Irish heritage, even if was five generations back. If you you talk with your hands, it's because you're Italian (or your great-grandfather was). My grandparent's parents came from Poland and we still have a traditional Polish dinner every Christmas Eve. For the most part, say what you like of hard core conservatives, we're proud of our diversity. And we're all for equality- in therory. I don't know if we can say we're as committed to it as the French, though.
We have a ways to go. Both of us.
posted by Etrangère | 11:39 AM
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