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NorthernGent -> RE: BIG TROUBLE IN FRANCE (9/28/2008 7:19:59 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: TheHeretic
Educate the confuzzled American then. Is FRANCE so repressed that mailing a dirty postcard is in itself a form of performance art?
I don't believe you can draw a conclusion on the basis of one event. Moreover, you would have to understand French history to understand their culture. They've had a relatively turbulent history, stretching back to the religious strife that tore the country apart in the 15th/16th centuries (and beyond that for all I know), when compared with England. The importance of this turmoil is in shaping French thought and a tendency to lurch between left and right politics (in comparison with England where centre ground and compromise are constants in English life).
The point I was making was this: in some respects the United States has more in common with France than we do. I'll give you an example: generally speaking, you will get an invite to an English home only where you are a close friend or a family member; we do not like acquaintenances in our space. The French are different in this regard. Based on those I know who have been to the United States, Americans are more open with invitations to their homes, too. Ultimately, England has had a relatively peaceful and stable existence, which means we don't think like the French and Germans (in many respects).
France repressed? I'm sure you could find examples to support such an argument........but the same applies to England and the United States.
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