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Feb 18, 2003 A few years ago Mark Twain wrote a column about “how to be a writer”. His column was dedicated to writing comedy. In it he penned a scathing review of the way that the French deal with humor. You see, he said, in America we write comedy. If France they are “witty”. The difference? The French “witty” writer “tells you beforehand that it is one of the funniest things he has ever heard…and is the first person to laugh when he gets through.” Not only that, he says, but if the Frenchman is successful with his “wit” “he is so glad and happy that he will repeat the punch line and look around from face to face, collecting applause, and then repeat it again.” He concludes by saying that “it is a pathetic thing to see.” Apparently, the French foreign policy is much the same. “A pathetic thing to see.” The French, have said that they will not support the United States in our campaign against Sadam Hussien. They reiterated this point on last Friday at the UN and then watched with delight as several delegates applauded them. Applause only served to strengthen their resolve against the United States. It was exactly what they were looking for. Somebody was paying attention to them! Never mind that it was the wrong group of “somebodies”. Never mind that there was nothing even remotely worth applause in their oration. Never mind that their policy both excludes and ignores resolution 441. Makes no difference to them. Those who deal with the French would do well to revisit Twain’s assessment of them. The French are looking for popularity. The French want accolades. It seems that they will stab any friend in the back in order to get them. Like the middle child, the French only want attention. Our policy needs to be one of ignoring them. Ignore them and they will go away. The French, by detaching themselves from us, have in effect made themselves useless. They have made themselves obsolete. In a world of globalization and a world of closely connected economics, we need to remember exactly what the French have done to us. We need to remember that they have sought applause over substance. Most of all we need to remember to ignore them. We need to remember that their behavior truly is “a pathetic thing to see.” Wesley Mills is a full time student and writing instructor at Empire State College in Rochester N.Y. He also does freelance editing and writing and has his own company, "Writng Resources" which helps writers of all genres to write better and also does "book doctoring" and editing of all types. Email Wesley Mills: wmills1@rochester.rr.com ------------ Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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