Re: CHAT: Bastille day [was Re: Le Jour de la Prise de la Bastille]

Thanks to Mark for greetings. We would probably rather
say "Joyeuse fête" or "Bonne fête du 14 juillet", but
usually, we don't really greet each other on this
occasion. As to the meaning of this celebration, I
think people just understand it as the day when we
kicked the king and his family out, even if it is not
strictly true (we just took the Bastille Castle, but
this was the beginning of the end, even if some more
kings (and even emperors) came later).

As you may have noticed, I was silent on 14th of July
(who said "so nice" ?) The reason was not my respect
for the National Holiday, but rather the fact that,
having subscribed to ADSL (512K), the immediate result
was that my personal phone line went totally silent
for three days. Glory to the Tech ! But today, it came
back, after I protested to France Telecom (from a
public phone cabin). So I haven't got the 512k yet,
but at least I can use the Internet as before.

--- "Thomas R. Wier" <trwier@...> wrote:
> From:    Tristan Mc Leay <kesuari@...>
> > Mark J. Reed wrote:
> > > Joyeaux jour férié!
> > >
> > >  -Jean-Marc (le nom utilisé pour Marcos en la
> classe de français)
> >
> > Bastille Day
> >
> > Very(??) joyous day.
>
> I've always wondered whether the celebration of
> Bastille day
> is a true reflection of the difference in political
> cultures
> between France and the English speaking world, or
> simply ignorance
> of the events it represents.  For me, Bastille Day
> represents the
> death of the Moderate Enlightenment, because after
> that point
> the drive for genuinely needed reforms of the
> revolution to abolish
> absolutism and replace it with a
> moderate-to-progressive
> constitutional regime were quickly brushed aside.
> It symbolically
> replaced the skepticism of human nature with the
> Rouseauian idealism,
> in which violence used to murder of tens of
> thousands of people was
> licit as long as the ultimate utopian ideals were
> being advanced...
> I just don't get it.

=====
Philippe Caquant

"High thoughts must have high language." (Aristophanes, Frogs)


		
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