Themes and a brief talk about the purpose of this blog

Hey there everyone,

So my classes are officially done! It's good times, now I am officially a tourist in Paris and not a student. I have a weekend here, three days, until I leave on Monday and get to Tallahassee on Tuesday.

So I thought I'd get a little philosophical today and talk about some of the overreaching themes that have united my trip. I promise, it's not that boring, and maybe it'll get you thinking a little.

To begin with, my paper that I have been talking a lot about ended up being on Voltaire and Rousseau and their effects on Marx. The thesis had to do with freedom and equality and what precisely the governments of the world should supply their people. I argue that the people of a nation can have freedom or equality and not both.

This is especially evident when looking at the difference between Communist and Capitalist governments. The Communist governments promised their people equality and they delivered on their promise-the people were equally poor and equally oppressed. There wasn't fredom of speech, religion or assembly in their governments.

Capitalist governments, like America, on the other hand, don't have equality among people, but they do have freedom. A lot of people may live in poverty, but at least they can complain about the government and the society that creates it.

Which brings me to my main question, would you rather have equality or freedom? There have been no long term successful governments that have provided both. In my mind, at least, a government that provides freedom is a more stable government where the people experience a better quality of life. But I suppose there are other arguments that would preach equality. Something to think about to be sure. When we presented our topics in class, my paper had the most questions from the class, which I take it to mean that it got people thinking.

In a way too, I never would have thought of this topic if it hadn't been for my travels here. I originally got interested in Communism when I visited the House of Terror in Budapest (check earlier entries for my account of the experience) and talked to Lydia, who lived under Communism in Hungary. My whole idea of there being a choice between freedom and equality was further strengthened after my trip to Normandy and thinking about the different governments that have existed between America and Eastern Europe. And of course, the experience of being an American in a foreign country has forced me to think about the way in which our countries are different in many ways. This has included language, food, and culture which I have already blogged about, and now politics and fundamental value differences, which I'm addressing now.

Another issue that has unified my trip and relates to this, is an issue that I started thinking about after watching a french film in my film class called "Notre Musique." It's a very thought provoking film, but one particulary interesting issue that it raised was the question of military force. We tend to think about American military force as a bad thing at times, invading other countries, and provoking differences that result in terrorist attacks. But what of our safety? Unlike in Israel or other areas in the Middle East, terror attacks don't take place everyday on our streets in America and Europe. Part of this has to do with the fact that the military is a protection for us. In as much as they can sometimes make situtions worse and create and prolong wars, they are also responsible for our happiness and security. Switzerland, a neutral country, and a very safe one, is partly safe because of the military force that protects the country (but doesn't engage in war). When I was in Prague the Czechs there were upset with American plans to build a military base near Prague. They thought it would provoke war with Russia. But the whole point of it was to make the country, America and its allies safe. What can we make of these differing aims, objectives, and consequences?

The more I write this, the more I realize that these theories have a lot to do with war. But war is tied up with peace and cooperation, and so is the last issue I'll talk about: the cultural differences among nations, especially concerning different languages.

Now language is an issue that I talk about a lot on the blog, so it shouldn't be surprising that I'm talking about it now. I find language so interesting, especially in the ways it forces people to interact with one another. At the beginning of my trip I travelled through so many different countries, and I had to switch languages every single day, almost. It was really exhausting. When you think about America in contrast to Europe you can see how lucky we are: if we want to go from the beach, to the mountains, to the big city, the langauge is the same everywhere in America. In Europe, if I want to do this in the same literal area, the language changes. France borders up against six other countries. In three of them a good deal of French is spoken (enough to get by with only knowing French) but in the three others, German, Italian and Spanish are spoken. If we want to include the United Kingdom as a bordering country, then there is also English. So if you want to converse fully with the countries surrounding you in France that's five different languages that you have to learn (more is you consider the regional langauges in Spain and other parts of France, as well). See how exhausting it can get? When you think about it this way, you can see how these world wars can ignite if the people in such a small geographical region don't have something as basic and essential as language in common. Language, and the lack of it provided a lot of interesting experiences for me on my trip and provided me with a bunch of interesting stories, but for most people who struggle with different languages everyday, language has the power to keep them repressed, start conflicts and generally give people a lot of problems.

When you think about life and the continous expanse of time, certain themes that unite it can pop up if you are able to think clearly enough to find them. Undoubtedly, there are a billion more themes that united my trip, but these are just some of the ones that I could find and think clearly enough to write on. From the feedback I've received, I've got a lot of people thinking about things they've never thought of before they've read my blog. It hasn't been my intention to make anyone feel any one emotion after reading it, rather, I just want people to start thinking about issues I've encountered. Hopefully, in most cases, I've given you enough information that you have been able to form your own opinions on issues and experiences I have written about. My viewpoint is my own, and shaped by my own experiences, and there's no doubt that this trip would have been much different if you had gone on this trip instead of me. Seeing as how some readers may never go on a trip of this magnitude, I've wanted to share some of my experiences so you can get as much out of them as I did. I don't really think it's fair that I've spent so much of my and my family's money on something that only I benefitted from. So, through my writing, hopefully more people than me have benefitted from this experience.

Later to come on my blog...my pictures sometime later next week, along with some ending thoughts and more on experiences I've left out because of lack of time on my part. So stay tuned!

Love,
Em