lupuman34 said:Having been recently in Paris, I found a suburban emptiness back in the States. Walking through elegant parks, and getting used to people actually being skinny and eating with health in mind was beautiful. The ridiculous thing is how Americans find it very easy to insult a country with thousands years of history. Contrary, to the extermination of Native Americans, Decleration of Independance, and...wait thats where it ends, France possesses a long intruiging history. The U.S (of course generalizing) is predominantly populated by individuals whose weight is a frightening thing and also being totally ignorant about other nations. Worst, an American will tell you he is proud of this ignorance. So, letting recent international choices for war or no war aside, how can we permit ourselves to insult a country whose citizens would laugh at our high level of uneducation and obesity. The problem is here folks! Americans spend an extremely high amount of time glued to the telivision, secluding themselves in their suburban houses. The French have something like 6 national channels. They do something called "social interaction" in public places such as cafes and parks. Parks in the U.S can be seen with people running, rollerblading, anything to loose weight... all to be put back shortly. I'm sorry I can't expand more on this, but please share your comments.
No doubt that there is a weight problem in the US and many western countries. Of course, the recent obsession with obesity in this country has NOTHING to do with the fact the Trial Lawyers are targetting fast food (or does it?)!
How that makes Americans culturally inferior to the French is beyond me. Probably one thing you can thank is the dumbing down of the American Educational System. Most people don't know a Renoir from a Renault. Of course, American know-how has brought about micro-electronics, fiber optics, the Internet, the vaccine for polio, computers, light bulbs, mass production of the automobile, the airplane, the rocket ship, String theory, literature, art, pop culture (not all of it bad), and many other things.
As for exterminating the Native Americans....ahem....France is one of the most anti-semitic countries in Europe. Did you see any Jews in France? Ever wonder why you didn't? Because the culturally superior Vichy French government collaborated with the Nazis in their final solution. Many French Jews did not survive World War II.
Finally, most people would not have anything against the French if they stopped being so Anti-American. France regards us as a rival (probably because they view us as being English) and fights us at every turn, except of course, when they are being invaded by a foreign power!
Did you ever notice that there are a great number of American soldiers buried in France? Have you ever seen a cemetary of French soldiers here in the US? Exactly.
We have many national channels, all privately owned, and one government run channel, PBS which is nothing more than a propaganda outlet for the Left. Thank goodness for that!
Also, the standard of living in France is lower than it is here in the States. They also have a much higher unemployment rate and they have a large population of immigrant Moslems that present a grave national security risk.....