But they are not uninformed and do not need saving, nor do they hate Americans. In fact, I felt
more welcomed and accepted in Tunisia than on any of my regular visits back to my own adopted country of the United
States. Landing there after escaping the war in my native country of Vietnam,
I lost my identity at a very young age. I risked my life in the rough ocean to
find freedom and the chance for a better life and thankfully I found those
opportunities in America. But I was not always welcomed and the sense of having given up my birthplace
and become a nomad of sorts, has never truly faded. This is evident each time I
return home to Orange Country, and while in a grocery store or mall I am asked
by fellow Americans, "Where are you from"? When I say I am an American, too, I
am treated to a healthy dose of suspicion and doubt.
This used to bother me, but not anymore. Having lived in Paris
for the past 6 years, I've come to recognize how incredibly young a country America
truly is. And so when asked, "How do the French see us?" I have to say that our at worst, the French see America
as I do: as a young country that does not want to learn from the mistakes of
our older cousins, but instead insist our cousins adopt our modern ideals. They
see America as a young society that thinks older societies are outdated and in need of change;
as young society that views the poverty as a sign of weakness and political
mismanagement. They see America as a young nation that thinks because it is better, faster and stronger it is
always right and always in charge.
And in many ways we Americans are faster and stronger and do make good leaders; but like a
bull-headed teenager we are not always right and not always informed. As we
mature, it is my hope that we Americans will come to understand what history
has to teach and that we will use those lessons wisely. Perhaps then we will
stop associating one man's political actions with the religious beliefs of an
entire population.
I also hope that as we mature, America will come to understand that while poorer nations may lack our external wealth,
internally they can prove far richer because they've found fulfillment in their
traditional values and beliefs. Perhaps then we'll cease resenting other
nations for depending on us as much as we regularly insist they do, or better
yet, cease expecting everyone to speak English whenever we travel and to serve
us McDonalds and Coke alongside their indigenous couscous and maize.
I guess what I most want to convey to everyone reading this is that the French and the Muslim
people as a whole do not hate 'we Americans'. Paris is not burning and we are not paying for the sins of our fathers. But if
pressed, any Frenchman will tell you that what they do dislike is the arrogance
and intolerance we regularly display for those who disagree with us. And when
looked at from that point-of-view, I have to agree.
Juliet Lac, Founder and Publisher
Vernita Irvin, Writer and USA Managing Editor
Me, Paris and PJW...
