Same, Same

“Cities have sexes: London is a man, Paris a woman, and New York a well-adjusted transsexual.”
― Angela Carter

 “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”
― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast 

The wheels from the Boeing 767 touched down on the runway in Paris, France with a puff of smoke (at least, I assume they did.  They always do in movies), after a long trans-atlantic flight; my first trip to Europe.  I was both excited and exhausted as I glanced out the fuselage window to see.............an airport and grass.  Indeed, it looked just like any other airport and most any other grass I'd seen back in the States.  I only knew I was in Paris because a flight attendant told me I was......in French.

My youngest daughter is an exchange student in Paris.  I was there to visit her and allow her the privilege of being tour guide to a dad who takes too many pictures and walks too slowly.  We walked EVERYWHERE.  And it's a good thing we walked, because I engulfed the french cuisine as if each meal were my last.  

Without Alex, navigation would have been challenging, to say the least.  The only French word I know is "oui."  Thankfully, my daughter is fluent in the language, which allowed me the opportunity to just soak in the sites and let her do all the talking.  As you might have imagined, I began to notice some things.  There are, no doubt, some cultural differences between America and France.  

For example, many of the cafes are set up with the chairs arranged side-by-side, as opposed to opposite or facing each other.  This allows people to actually rub shoulders while they dine.  The meals are in much smaller portions and they enjoy lots of duck and veal.   Wine is a staple.  Desserts are amazing.  Entre means appetizer and Plat is the main course.  I got that confused more than once.  Water is served without ice in a once-used wine bottle and you pour your own.  The one mixed drink I did order came without ice.  When I requested it, I got two cubes......two.  Wasn't the most frigid Jack and Coke I ever had, but when in Rome.....or France, in this case.......

There were other differences.  The pace was slower.  They don't have Siesta, per se, as in Mexico, but many restaurants do close in the afternoon for food service.  Dinner isn't really a serious thought until around 8:00 p.m.  People take their time.  Every night (and I mean EVERY night) people linger by the hundreds, in every quaint club, up and down nearly every street.  They drink and smoke, and chat until the wee hours.  They seem to enjoy the moment and each other's company.

Oh, and the cars are smaller, the health care is free, and you don't have to walk your pet on a leash.

But that's about where the differences stopped.  The people....the PEOPLE were just like us.  Ok, so they spoke French.  Whatever.  There were homeless people, rich people, millenials, and couples.  Couples held hands and kissed in the park.  Parents took their kids for walks in strollers.  People went to work, rode buses and bikes and trains, had dinner with family.  Children went to school.   

Being in Paris was like being in every major city I've every visited.  People share the same hopes, dreams, and fears.  They wake up each morning and do pretty much exactly what we do.  Sure, they share some fears about terrorism.  But with a military budget that's a fraction of our own, they can afford things like health care.  And I felt completely safe in Paris.  Completely.

Why does this continue to be such an issue for humans?  Why does it continue to be a question of differences and "us versus them?"  Sure, I've written about this before, but the point is worth making again......and again.  We're the same.  Where we live, what we believe, the language we speak, and the religion we follow (or don't follow) is a product of where we were born.  Sheer chance.  Someone drew a line on a map and called this place America, that place Mexico, that one over there England, etc, etc, etc.  You get the point.

The fact that we continue to wage war over what's "ours" and to get some of what's "theirs" just boggles my mind beyond reason.  How can we not understand that it's the rich, World Bank, and governments that wage war and send people off to die like insignificant pawns in a chess game?  I could have asked any one person in Paris if he hated me, and I feel sure they'd have said, "No."  

We don't need to fear Mexicans.  We need to fear their government's relationship with our own.  Muslims?  People just like us.  Just because a radical leader, government, or hate group continues to threaten us, it in no way means the people themselves are a threat.  They want what we want.  They want safety, a decent living, and safety for their family.  And before you tell me we have to protect our families from radical Islamics, tell me who is protecting them from us.  Remember, the U.S. is the ONLY country to ever engage a nuclear weapon.  And we did it twice.  Maybe war was different then.  I don't now.  But I continue to know in my soul of souls, that war isn't the answer.  

Same message, different story.  I get it.  But here it is again.  One people.  One planet.  We're the same.  We. Are. All. The. Same!!

Didn't we learn to share in Kindergarten?

Namaste,

Matt