In the aftermath of the Paris massacre on Friday, 13 November, while anguishing over the deaths of innocent civilians in a city my wife and I came to love during our visit there in 2010, I was astounded by the immediate callous tone of political diatribes in the media. Only hours after the first reports of the shootings appeared in the news on my phone, and subsequently by TV commentators, there was speculation about what this would do to the Republicans and/or the Democrats; how this would change the conversations of the political “debates.” Like we really needed Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton to provide perspective and guidance on how we should feel. There is a much more dire message here that demands consideration, so much greater than adolescent party politics.
On 14 November, Frank Bruni, an Op-Ed Columnist for the New York Times stated the following:
“Can’t we wait until we’ve resolved the body count? Until the identities of all the victims have been determined and their families informed? Until the sirens stop wailing? Until the blood is dry? Or must we instantly bootstrap obliquely related agendas and utterly unconnected grievances to the carnage in Paris, responding to it with an unsavory opportunism instead of respectful grief?” [Read the entire commentary online.]
Mr. Bruni gave an interesting example: It seems within 4 hours Ann Coulter came forth with the inane comment: “Too bad there were no concealed carry permits…anywhere in Europe…since 1818.” Newt Gingrich also speculated how the scene would have been different if 10 to 15 citizens would have had concealed carry permits. Please, let us not speculate on such a scene in a dark and crowded theater. There are other examples of attempts to blame the victims; vacuous projections of responsibility NOT on the Islamic jihadist psychopaths, but on the citizens of Paris who should have known to carry a Glock to dinner at a Cambodian Restaurant in the 11th Arrondissement of Paris.
Perhaps we can learn where our hearts are, from the French people. In 2009 I finally convinced by wife to allow me to arrange a trip to France, namely Paris. She was understandably reluctant because of the common notion that the French people were difficult, or snooty, and disliked Americans who could not speak their language. I finally convinced her with the strategy that I wanted to take her to Paris before I died, or got too old to wander the streets of the city. And I agreed to make all the arrangements. With the help of a wonderful young French woman, raised in Paris, but living and working as a Travel Agent in Los Angeles, a very detailed itinerary for a two week stay in France was worked out over the next 9 months. We made the trip in the last week in September 2010. Among other details arranged for us was a personal guide, just for the two of us, for the first two days in Paris. Our guide was a woman of about 55 years of age who has a PhD in history from the Sorbonne. She told us that she works as a tour guide so that she and her husband can continue to live in Paris. We came to believe that she is one of the great treasures of the city she so obviously loves.
After spending the first morning in and around Notre Dame she took us to one of her own special restaurants for lunch. During the meal she asked us why we had not visited France before? When my wife frankly explained it was because the French had the reputation of being difficult. With a great deal of emotion our guide told us the following: The French people love the American people, but “we do not like your politicians….but we do not like our own politicians.” She stated emphatically that she refused to speak the name of the then President of France. She stated that when the news of the 9/11 disaster reached Paris, for days you would see French people crying in the streets of Paris. “Our hearts were with you.” Finally, knowing we were going to visit Normandy during our stay in France, she told us, with tears in her eyes, the following: “If it were not for those American boys buried near the Normandy beaches, we would be speaking German now. Our hearts will always be with you.”
We wandered, by ourselves, all over Paris, day and night. We did not have a guide after the first two days, and we were frequently lost. This often required we look at a map to try to make out where we were headed. Countless times a citizen of Paris would stop and ask if they could help us. Without the kindness of these people we might still be wandering the streets of Paris. We learned where their hearts are.
I wonder today, if our guide and all the French people who helped us are safe, and their families are not mourning a senseless loss of those they love. Despite the fatuous comments in the media, on both sides of the political spectrum, I hope the French people can somehow know that we are there with them. At this time, the tragedy in Paris of Friday 13 November 2015, is not about us; we are not the center of the universe and everything does not revolve around what we think and what we do. It is not the French who are difficult and arrogant. Perhaps we are merely projecting our own arrogance on others. It is for now, enough, to just let them know where our hearts are.
Mr. Bruni finished his Column he titled “The Exploitation of Paris” with the following statement:
“I’d like not to be told, fewer than 18 hours after the shots rang out, how they demonstrate that Americans must crack down on illegal immigration to our own country. I read that and was galled, and not because of my feelings about immigration, but because of my feelings about the automatic, indiscriminate politicization of tragedy….It is such a disrespectful impulse….And it’s such and ugly one.”
Finally, it is now over 72 hours since the massacre in Paris and the political exploitation of the tragedy continues to build. There are now some facts that need to emphasized. The bombing of the Russian Airliner with over 220 deaths, the double bombing in Beirut on 12 November 2015 with 44 deaths and the Paris attacks are all connected. The Islamic jihadist ISIS organization seems to be responsible for all three terrorist attacks. The horrible loss of life in Beirut, in particular, did not receive anything near the alarm or analysis that the Paris tragedy received. Events in Beirut were significantly ignored or diminished by the media, governmental agencies and politicians in the United States. Do the politicians from both parties think the import and anguish of the attacks in Beirut are significantly less important than Paris attacks?
In a search for more reasonable analysis I have found one simple paragraph that seems to be the message I would like all politicians and media to agree upon. The Editorial Board of the New York Times summarized this monumental time in our history:
“The attacks in Paris sent a major shockwave around the world, and the Beirut bombings and the downing of the Russian jetliner were every bit as horrific. ISIS has demonstrated there is no limit to its reach, and no nation is really safe until they all come together to defeat this scourge.”