Category: Fourre-tout

A little bit of everything

« Ils en ont parlé »

The above quotation is a memorable French caption meaning « they talked about it ».

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In a few days, American families all over the US will gather to celebrate Thanksgiving.
(Soft holiday music in the background).

Family members will come by car, by bus, by plane, from the Great Lakes to Florida, and from Maine to Silicon Valley and meet at Grandma’s house in a show of unity and brotherly love.
When greeting her guests at the door, Grandma will gently remind all “Surtout, n’en parlons pas.” (Above all, let’s not talk about it.)

Before sitting for dinner, visitors will munch on appetizers, have some drinks and engage in friendly banter. Then everybody will gather around the table and start chomping on the goodies.
(Ominous music)

For a few precious 30 minutes, everybody will be on the same wavelength.
Then suddenly, inadvertently or not, somebody will lobe a five-letter fragmentation grenade on the table and all hell will break loose.
Turkey shrapnel will fly all over and hit indiscriminately foes and friends alike.(Khachaturian’s Saber Dance)

When order will be restored, bodies bleeding cranberry sauce will lay on the ground, stunned.
A Great Wall suddenly slammed shut separating families and friends into two hostile groups.

This situation is highly reminiscent of the Dreyfuss affair that divided (an always fractious) France in 1894 and barely ended a decade later.

France, as America today, was divided in two camps: the Dreyfusards (those who believed in Dreyfuss innocence) and the anti-Dreyfusards (who claimed that he was guilty).
An historical drawing by political cartoonist Caran d’Ache (Emmanuel Poiré) very cleverly depicted the predicament.

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I am afraid that this Thanksgiving is equally ripe for dissension and chaos.
Families might split and friendship might be fractured over the still simmering results of the 2016 presidential elections.

Winning an election is children’s play compared to the task of governing a country as large and as multi-ethnic as the United States.

I could not help but notice Barack Obama’s prematurely white hair as he is leaving the White House.
Will the magnificent mop of our chosen skipper keep its luster after his First Term in office?

A jolly (and if possible peaceful) Thanksgiving to all.

Alain

My credo

“One person is never as stupid as a group of people. That’s why they have lynch mobs, not lynch individuals.” Ben Horowitz

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I am not a groupie. Possibly a groper, but definitely not a groupie. In fact, I am extremely leery of groups, especially those prone to hysteria.
I can share certain beliefs with a particular crowd, but I am definitely not as extreme as a rock or political groupie.
And I certainly won’t offer any sexual favors to anybody to endear myself to some self-important narcissist.

shaun-the-sheepI don’t care to be a sheep, a lemming, one of the mooing drove…
I refuse to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.
I want to look at things impartially and feel free to voice an opposing view if I disagree.
Is what the preacher said reasonable? Is what the politician asserting true? Does it make sense? Is it prejudiced, not based on actual experience?

I don’t like divisive pins, badges, political or religious symbols. I don’t like slogans, raised fists, raised hand salutes.
I particularly despise turncoats. People who insult you publicly one day and curry favors with you the next… after their camp was defeated.
I don’t believe that “might makes right.”

To be heard, don’t shout. Speak softly… or write. Write cool headedly. Take your time. Measure your words, your sentences, your ideas.
Writings over the years have proven to be more influential than slogans and shouted epithets.
The Bible, the Communist Manifesto, Mein Kempf, The Prince, the Female Eunuch among other books, did more to sway opinions than riots and vandalism.

I want to have friends (just a few), not mendacious political or religious acolytes.
I don’t want a messiah to guide me. I want a human, levelheaded man (or woman) to steer and lead us by example.

“Don’t walk in front of me… I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me… I may not lead. Walk beside me… just be my friend.”
Albert Camus

 Alain

The winds of change

“Conquering the world on horseback is easy; it is dismounting and governing that is hard.” – Genghis Khan

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lady-libertyI am of average intelligence but one week after the facts I still don’t understand…
The last election clearly demonstrated that a lot of people were dissatisfied with the status quo and wanted some change. This I understand.

Their main complaint was about the widening economic inequality between the rich and the poor. This I also understand and agree with.

What still puzzles me though, is why would the downtrodden put their faith in a billionaire who (unlike Warren Buffett, Bill and Melinda Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Michael Bloomberg among others) has been called “the least charitable billionaire in the world.”
A man who likes to mingle with the rich and famous but who has never shown any inclination to share his good fortune with the underprivileged.
How can such a man be trusted to improve the lot of the unemployed, the low-wage earners?

People yearn for a “gallant knight in a shining armor” who leads by example, and saves maidens (and less fortunate souls) in distress.
As far as I know, the president-elect is not such a man.
And the pungent smell of nepotism presently emanating from the new White House does not augur well.

I wish the new president (and especially America) well, but I have great doubts about the new direction of the “ship of state”.
It seems that instead of using a GPS he is opting to use celestial navigation, a more hazardous form of sailing.

Somebody has said this before, but I think it is worth repeating:
“Fasten your seat belts my friends; it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

 Alain

 Flash: The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. This wasn’t for any religious reasons. They couldn’t find three wise men and a virgin. Jay Leno