Thursday, July 14, 2005

Happy Bastille Day



Never mind the current crop of smug and hateful Frenchies. This post isn't about them. This post is a celebration of the common people of France, who decided, finally, on July 14, 1789, that the would no longer be slaves to an absolute and corrupt minority and that they would no longer be led around, like sheep, by a corrupt and hypocritical clergy.

July 14, 1789 wasn't the end of the dizzy era of excess and abuse - there are still spoiled aristos and unaccountable priests, still places where peasents are poor and exploited - but July 14, 1789 was the begining of the end. And though the long liberal trip made many wrong turns, and committed excesses of it's own, there's no doubt at all that humankind is better off today - by every conceivable measure - than it was before the liberal journey started. And that embarkment -Bastille Day- is something to celebrate.

So pass the french fries!