Kenders' Musings

The ongoing and apparently uncontrollable riots in France, which have claimed one life as of this writing, would appear to be hordes of disaffected youths unhappy with their lot in life in the "French Model" of civilization, and that would be partially correct.

For more in depth analysis one would have to understand the "French Model", socialism, True Freedom, racism, arrogance and "French Pride".

At one time, the French had a sparkling country, full of possibility and True Freedom. That time was directly after the French Revolution, an historic event that showed the raw power of the people unleashed, when hordes of French Citizens took back the country from an elitist government that kept them poor and subservient. (Much as the French government is doing to the immigrants living in the slums now) I am proud to say that the French Revolution was inspired by the American Revolution, when the Patriots who founded the United States of America tossed off the yoke of oppression imposed by the British Crown and undertook the grandest experiment in the history of the world by creating a government BY the PEOPLE, FOR the PEOPLE, and OF the PEOPLE.

But then the French cocked it all up. With the grand cry of "liberty, equality, fraternity", the French strove to create a country of true equality, where color didn't matter, and creed was a matter of personal belief, never once understanding that the world doesn't work that way, no matter how badly one wishes for it.

Creating a false level playing field through socialist policies that have taken deeper root after WW2, the French refused to believe that their system wasn't thought out well enough, or that "liberty, equality, fraternity" could not be legislated into life. In practice the French really didn't try too hard, as Chirac has "admitted" that the French Government was to blame for its suburban mayhem because it had relegated its immigrants and their descendants to ghettos....

The funny thing about that last remark is it is the exact premise that Chirac campaigned on in '95;

He promised to remedy "these difficulties that threaten to grow into a fracture that is urban, ethnic and even religious".

One thing is for sure, with Chirac's utter failure to repair the social fabric of a seemingly racist France, and being unable to stop a bunch of kids from burning up thousands of cars and buses, destroy who knows how many buildings, wounds cops and beat a man to death, all in a country that puts forth a face of tolerance and love on the world stage, the French paper Liberation had it correct when it said;

..."Chirac's reign has been a tragic farce."

(funny name for a paper in France eh? "Liberation"? Well, they HAVE had a lot of experience with liberation, so maybe naming a paper Liberation is a good idea. Maybe the U.S. should put out a paper called "Saved Your Ass....TWICE")

You know what's even funnier? The fact that Villipin is blaming EVERYONE IN FRANCE for the "unrest". The Prime Minister:

... lectured citizens on the "republican responsibility" that each bore for the social ills.

By far the most telling item about the riots and the way that France views herself comes from the French Paper France Soir:

"The helplessness of the Government to restore order and to propose a political solution is shaking citizens trust in the republican pattern. Can republican fraternity still win, or is our country turning to social apartheid, which we thought was the privilege of US society?"

"Social Apartheid"? In America immigrants like that truly have the chance to better their lot in life, and wouldn't be shunted to ghetto's dependent on the government for every little thing. That is the major difference between the U.S. and socialist governments. When will the French wake up and realize that SOCIALISM DOES NOT WORK?????

Anyway.

What we are seeing with the riots in France are the failures of the French Model. There are some people in France, thankfully, that see this failure and are willing to buck the system of "political correctness" and appeasement to point it out.

One such man is the French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who has said;

France's "republican model" falls short and that the U.S. or British "melting pot" approach could help break the cycle of minority exclusion, unemployment and revolt.

He may very well be one of the last honest and intelligent Frenchmen left in that country, although he is not alone. Michel Wieviorka, one of France's leading sociologists, has stated the riots indicated;

"the decline -- perhaps historic -- of the so-called French model of republican integration".

The fact is that the French are racist, but they don't use color as a barometer for their racism, but rather country of origin, economic status and even skill sets. Take for example this article, which states:

Such factors include attempts by France to protect its own particular brand of welfare state at the expense of new entrants to the job market, particularly those belonging to ethnic minority groups, who tend to be poorly educated and low-skilled and therefore less employable. Relegating poor minorities to the outer suburbs hardly make fermenting problems go away, as the current violence has shown.

By the above one can see that the French Model, and it's resultant socialism, simply is NOT working. Add in the factor of inherent racism on the part of the French, especially White French citizens, and a dangerous situation has been created over decades that is not going to go away when the riots end. These issues are going to need to be addressed once the city streets are quiet again, and it is going to be a painful process.

About now you may be asking what does "arrogance" and True Freedom have to do with this, Kender? And what about that "French Pride" you spoke of earlier? To that we need to understand first what True Freedom is, why the French don't possess it, and how their pride is going to keep them from rising to anything but a shadow of the greatness they once knew.

It is no secret that the French are arrogant, to the point that they cannot admit their mistakes. America can be arrogant at times, but that arrogance is fleeting. Never mistake Pride for arrogance. American's are a proud people, because they realize the inherent superiority of their system, and realize that it needs to be tweaked from time to time. The American Way is an ever changing system that evolves with the times, rooting out injustice, albeit sometimes slowly, and making the necessary changes to bring about the values that America was founded on.

Those values include the knowledge, (note; I did NOT use the word "belief", because it is NOT a "belief" but is FACT) that "All Men Are Created Equal". (note for the feminists out there; the use of the term "men" means "mankind", so just shut up about it).

Americans know that all men are CREATED equal, but also realize that life isn't fair, so not all men END UP equal. To that end the American Way allows one to use their brains, ambition, and sometimes luck to create a better set of circumstances for themselves and their family, which carries over naturally into their community.

This gives rise to True Freedom. True Freedom is socio-economic mobility, which means that one can move through the strata of society (the "socio" part) through economic success (the economic part) and that your lot in life is NOT tied to your birth circumstances, but rather on your ABILITY as a human to be successful or not. At this point I want you to think about this tidbit, Capitalism is Economic Darwinism.

Under a socialist society, with policies of resource redistribution (i.e. THEFT) you cannot rise above your socio-economic status, as in the interest of "parity" you are taxed at ever increasing rates once you attain a certain income level, using the justification that you only need so much to live on, and since another guy only makes so much money compared to what you make, he is going to need more help to stay close to you economically. That is the antithesis of True Freedom. A socialist government decides what level you can attain by the level of society as a whole, thereby stealing not only your earnings, but your Freedom to Succeed, all because there are people that may not be as capable or driven as you are.

French Pride causes the majority of French people, whether in the street or parliament, to believe that their system is perfect the way it is, and only needs to be applied more forcefully. In this article is a very telling sentence:

When Sarkozy says the best social system is the one that produces jobs and that the French model is not doing that, his comments are met not with approval but retorts that the French model is fine and needs only to be better applied.

Proof positive the French cannot admit failure. Indeed, French animosity towards the U.S. is legendary, and I suppose throwing it in their faces that we kept them speaking French and not German twice doesn't help, but the fact remains that the French are regarded on the world stage as has-been's, a joke, a country of people too fearful to stand up for themselves or what is right for fear of "offending" somebody.

That the French have not been able to see clearly for decades is, of course, no surprise, and I suppose with their appeasement of radicals that these riots are simply the expected results of failed policies in the French government, but insight is provided not only to the French incapability to understand True Freedom, but the inability of the French to understand America.

What catches many French leaders in a bind is their belief that the alternative to their strong state intervening to ensure colour-blind equality is the cut-throat capitalism and ethnic segregation they say prevails in English-speaking countries.

In America, ethnic segregation does not exist as the French understand or interpret it. In America segregation is self imposed, as people tend to stick within their comfort zone, which is generally with people like themselves. Segregation is America is also, by and large, not predicated on color, religion or national origin, with the exception of the above mentioned caveat, but rather is an economic indicator. Any segregation in The U.S. is based in Economics, as people that can afford to move to better neighborhoods where the houses are bigger, the average income higher and mainstream values of hard work are evident by the success of the area are free to do so.

If anything America has replaced the old system of social strata by birth or lineage, where one could not move between classes due to long standing traditions or societal taboos, with a new system based on economics, and in the process has always worked to assure that the possibility of attaining that socio-economic mobility is there for anyone that has the ability and drive to reach for it.

French Pride keeps them from realizing that they have a system based in the noblest goals of creating a utopian paradise which will never work, and have hewed to a system born of idealism, without regard to reality.

An honest assessment of the Capitalist system of the United States of America will show that even with all of the faults we have here, we continue to march ever forward into the future with one eye on the past, to learn from our mistakes, and remembering that we must stay grounded in the fact that life is not fair, and we can only address real inequalities, not imagined wrongs and pipe dreams.

That is the difference between The American Way, and The French Model.

Those are the reasons that France is withering on the vine, both internally and on the world stage, while America stays strong.

Capitalism?
Or Socialism?
Growth and Opportunity?
Or Stagnation and Devolution?

You tell me which country you want to live in.


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