Happy Bastille Day!
The 18th century saw the beginning of many independence movements waged against aristocratic excess and oppressive colonialism. Americans are forever linked to France due to their help in the colonies’ war against the British. The hero Lafayette comes to mind. Perhaps motivated by that war as well as their own plight, the French threw off the chains of aristocratic oppression, starting at that famous Paris prison. Democracy was on the move. Later the nexus between Americans and French was further sealed by the gift of the Statue of Liberty, a symbol for all those invading those beaches in Normandy to help free France from Nazi oppression. That statue is still the most shining light of freedom today. Thank you, France, for that gift…and your support over the centuries. Vive la France! May our friendship and democracies forever remain bastions against tyrannies around the world!
July 15th, 2019 at 3:11 am
Steven,
I always remember July 14th because not only is it Bastille Day but the birthday of my husband’s grandmother who was a super kind and loving woman.
July 15th, 2019 at 4:47 am
Hi Jacqueline,
We have something remotely in common there: my father’s grandmother was of French descent. Unfortunately I’m not sure of the details, but probably not born on July 14.
I took French in high school and spoke it well until I lived in Colombia where Spanish took over. I guess you could say it drowned in the total immersion into Hispanic culture. I still practiced it there, though, because we had French profs in our university department where I was working…and I tried to keep it going by attending conversation classes at the Alliance Francaise.
r/Steve