NOTES FROM THE HINTERLAND
THE IMPORTANCE OF FRENCH FRIES
By Laurie Meunier Graves
But resistance to folly takes strength beyond the common measure, so that
corruption ends by infecting everyone in greater or less degree.
—Jacques Barzun
A month or so ago in Washington, D. C., in the corridors of power where
great men and women roam, momentous decisions were being made. Would the
wealthy get tax cuts that add up to more than what most of us in the
hinterlands earn in a year? Would the United States go to war with Iraq? In
a move to show France what they thought of their recalcitrance in the United
Nations, would cafeterias in the House of Representatives change the name of
French fries to ‘freedom fries’? The answers are: maybe, yes, and yes.
In the BBC News, I read, “Republican representative Bob Ney, whose committee
is in charge of [the House cafeterias] said the action was ‘a small but
symbolic effort to show the strong displeasure of many on Capitol Hill with
the actions of our so-called ally, France.’”
At around the same time, in what could be called a surreal coincidence, the
Maine State Legislature was honoring Franco-Americans, who constitute about
forty percent of the state’s population. Between the various ceremonies and
French songs, there were uneasy mutterings about ‘freedom fries’ and
‘freedom toast,’ and stories of French wine being dumped in restaurants
outside of Washington, D.C. Later, I couldn’t help but shiver when a friend
related how her father spoke to her about the Ku Klux Klan’s activities in
Maine and told how they marched against Franco-Americans. From there, it was
just a quick jump to Kristallnacht, the night in 1938 when Nazi sympathizers
in Germany went on a rampage and smashed the windows of synagogues, Jewish
businesses, and homes, and I decided that I needed to keep my imagination,
which can at times be lurid, in check.
However, the next day I read that in California, a chain of stores called
French Cleaners, whose logo is the Eiffel Tower, had been vandalized. The
owner, Pierre Frik, said that he had never had any troubles until the
relationship between France and the United States deteriorated. Then, one
store was burned down, customers began to spit on checks, and, yes, windows
were smashed at other stores. Suddenly, Kristallnacht didn’t seem so far
away.
In truth, I expect that this sort of vandalism will not be widespread, and I
don’t foresee a time when Franco-Americans are rounded up, crammed in
trains, and put in concentration camps. Still, it is sobering to realize how
easy it is to stir up ethnic hatred.
For good and for ill, people have tribal impulses, and it takes very little
to promote an atmosphere of ‘us versus them.’
Over the years, leaders in various countries have recognized this impulse
and have viciously used it to achieve their ends. Hitler did it in Nazi
Germany; Slobodan Milosevich did it in Serbia; and Osama bin Laden does it
wherever he is. It’s an old story, but it’s an effective one, and no group,
and indeed no country, is immune to this manipulation. As Malcolm Gladwell
writes in his book The Tipping Point, people are all too easily
swayed by circumstances, and this is how fashion trends begin. However,
under the right circumstances, ordinary citizens can be persuaded to not
only buy things they don’t need, but also to kill those who have been
labeled as other, as not quite human. It just takes a nudge in the wrong
direction to unleash this destructive impulse.
Needless to say, ‘freedom fries’ and ‘freedom toast’ are a nudge in the
wrong direction, and shame on the leaders on Capitol Hill for doing this.
The people of France (and by implication, those of French descent) should
not be vilified for the actions of its government, and our lawmakers should
not be encouraging ethnic hostility.
So bring on the French fries, French toast, French wine, and French kissing.
And while we’re at it, let’s add Russian dressing, German chocolate cake,
Chinese food, hommus and pita bread. Bring it all on. And maybe, just maybe,
we can start electing leaders who do not see the world in terms of ‘us
versus them,’ but rather as ‘we.’
