Bill Maher has a New Rule in Salon: "Conservatives have to stop rolling their eyes every time they hear the word 'France'. Like just calling something French is the ultimate argument winner."
"Earlier this year, the Boston Globe got hold of a campaign document from GOP contender Mitt Romney, and a recurring strategy was to tie Democrats to the hated French," Maher writes. "It said, in the Machiavellian code of the election huckster, 'Hillary equals France,' and it envisioned bumper stickers that read, 'First, not France.'"
"Here, simply dismissing an idea as French passes for an argument," Maher continues. "I'm not saying France is better than America. I don't want to be French, I just want to take what's best from the French. You know who else did that? The Founding Fathers [...] children of the French Enlightenment, and fans of it."
Maher compares and contrasts aspects of France and America, and concludes: "Can't we just admit we could learn something [from the French]?" As he writes, getting ideas from other countries and cultures doesn't mean that you have to forsake yours. Far from that: it's no less than a win-win.
Great read -- with the usual Maher zing. [variation on video]
"Earlier this year, the Boston Globe got hold of a campaign document from GOP contender Mitt Romney, and a recurring strategy was to tie Democrats to the hated French," Maher writes. "It said, in the Machiavellian code of the election huckster, 'Hillary equals France,' and it envisioned bumper stickers that read, 'First, not France.'"
"Here, simply dismissing an idea as French passes for an argument," Maher continues. "I'm not saying France is better than America. I don't want to be French, I just want to take what's best from the French. You know who else did that? The Founding Fathers [...] children of the French Enlightenment, and fans of it."
Maher compares and contrasts aspects of France and America, and concludes: "Can't we just admit we could learn something [from the French]?" As he writes, getting ideas from other countries and cultures doesn't mean that you have to forsake yours. Far from that: it's no less than a win-win.
Great read -- with the usual Maher zing. [variation on video]
