There IS Hope for France!
I never thought I would be writing a defense of France, but such is the case.
I recently finished reading Anti-Americanism by Jean-Francois Revel, a famous intellectual from Paris. Mr. Revel has written a number of bestsellers during the past three decades, including Without Marx or Jesus, probably his most well known work. Many of his books, like Anti-Americanism, are defenses of America. Anti-Americanism was originally published in France as L'obsession anti-americaine,: Son fonctionnement, ses causes, ses inconsequences, and was translated into English and released in America by Encounter Books.
As a Frenchman who has traveled extensively in the United States, Revel is in a unique position to understand the anti-American phenomena, and does an outstanding job articulating the reasons behind it, as well as provide rebuttals to its purveyors. Revel has a biting wit which comes through well in the translation. Some of his quips had be laughing out loud. The humor is not overdone though, and never does Revel lose sight of his goal of proving the rationale behind anti-Americanism to be fallacious.
Fair and honest critiques of America and her policies are in the best interests of both America and Europe because they allow a self-examination of America and its policies. Unfortunately, as Revel points out, fair and honest critiques are rarely found outside of the United States. In Europe, as well as in much of the world, critiques have given way to only vitriol and hatred of America. Some examples Revel cites are the denial that the attacks of September 11, 2001 even occurred (a best seller in France makes such an argument), a theologian from Brazil who wished that twenty-five planes had crashed into the Pentagon, and those who argue that America is not a democratic country (often these arguments come from nations in Africa and Latin America, who are obviously well versed in democracy).
Another argument that Revel makes is that the United States is in a classic "damned if you do, damned if you don't don't" situation: If America takes any foreign policy action, it is accused of being "unilateralism," while if America does not act, it is criticized for its "isolationist" tendencies. Thus America is simultaneously condemned for being both unilateralist and isolationist. Furthermore, as Revel points out, America's unilateralist tendencies are largely the fault of Europe. When only confronted with hatred and criticism when consulting with Europe, who can blame America for going it alone? And when Europe refuses to help, does America have any choice?
Jean-Francois Revel is not the only person in France leading the charge for common sense. Twenty-two year old Sabine Herold is the charismatic and beautiful leader of Liberte, J'ecris Ton Nom (Freedom, I Write Your Name), a libertarian style, pro-market, pro-liberty, and pro-America group, which is strong among the youth in France. There is a great article about Miss Herold in Reason Magazine. Herold has protested against striking labor unions who are damaging France's economy with their constant, selfish strikes, as well as led pro-Iraq war demonstrations in front of the American embassy. She is a student of F.A. Hayek, and does not hesitate to denounce communists as "disgusting." Could she be France's Margaret Thatcher someday?
Revel and Herold represent some lonely pro-America voices in France. Their words come at a time when relations between America and its first ally are the coolest they have been in years. French leaders like Jacque Chirac have exploited these feelings for their own political gain, in stark contrast to Revel and Herold, who have courageously stood with America. They are not alone either. In what might be a good sign, Revel's book spent some time at the top of France's bestseller list.
If relations between nations across the Atlantic are to improve, than Europeans, as well as Americans, should learn more about Sabine Herold, as well as read Revel's outstanding book, Anti-Americanism. The world would be a better place if more people would listen to these visionaries.
- John Brown is a senior in political science and history at the University of Tennessee @ Knoxville. Contact him at johnnyb325@aol.com, or visit www.johnnorrisbrown.com. This column first appeared on his blog, available here.