Good Morning.
I watched the speech given by the president of France to a joint session of Congress yesterday. The speech was interrupted by applause several times, often by people on both sides of the aisle, and the entire scenario was a sight to behold. First of all, President Macron delivered his remarks in English - decent, well-written English - and graciously referenced several Americans throughout history who had advanced the cause of democracy and intelligent culture. Here's the deal on that situation: I can't think of a single U.S. president, at least not during my lifetime, who could have given a speech in French, once the international diplomatic language, and who would have been as complimentary about French heroes - and there have been many. Most people, including members of the American media, can't even pronounce Macron's name correctly and could care less. We fuss and sputter about anyone whose first language isn't English when people in Europe and beyond are often fluent in several tongues. That brings me to another point about the speech. Macron talked about anger and fear and we have plenty of both going on in this country. It's tearing us to shreds and it's not about health care, repairing the infrastructure, or even the long lines to check in at the airport; it's about the fact that the country is beginning to look - and talk - "funny" and some people don't like it.
The French president and his wife may have done the kiss-on-both-cheeks thing upon their arrival at the White House and been lovely and warm during photo ops and at the state dinner - they enjoyed, yum, a goat cheese gateau, rack of lamb, and a nectarine tart at tables gleaming with gold and crystal - but Macron spared no words when it came to stating his views about several issues. He thinks the United States has no business pulling out of the Paris agreement on climate control and went on for ten minutes about saving the planet for future generations. "There's no Planet B," he declared in a clever play on words. He thinks we should stick by the Iran deal on nuclear weapons that we initiated and signed and try to make it better rather than storm out in a huff and cause trouble all over the Middle East to the point of maybe starting more wars. "France signed it and will honor it," he said. He talked about the nationalism that is hurting world order and made no secret of the fact that France believes in international trade agreements that are mutually beneficial rather than an isolationism that is, at its heart, short-sighted. He complimented the current American administration on its efforts to deal with North Korea and its opposition to the recent use of chemical weapons in Syria, but that was about it.
I've been waiting a long time for this speech. I've given up on the chaos in Washington resulting from an inability to form clear, well-reasoned sentences about important policy matters in English or any other language, and I've been hoping for months that the European countries would step up to the plate and say something. Tomorrow Angela Merkel arrives from Germany and I will be interested in her words and body language. The last time she was here she looked, on several occasions, like a mother who had just been told by the school principal that her kid bit the kindergarten teacher and there's no reason to think that anything has changed in that regard. I'll bet she and Macron and maybe Theresa May of the UK have made a pact to save the United States, so to speak, and I, for one, welcome their efforts. These people aren't perfect, nor do they particularly agree with each other in terms of their political philosophies, but they seem to have a certain maturity that is desperately needed on the world stage.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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