Quatorze Juillet

ChampsElysée14juillet-01, originally uploaded by Julie70

Today is Quatorze Juillet (Fête Nationale) - or more widely known as Bastille Day - a celebration of freedom from oppression. Marking the day the French people began the overthrow of King Louis XVI by storming the Bastille, we should reflect on how much our two countries are similar, and not let the politicians who want to divide us, have the day.

As I wrote last year, French-bashing has all but become a full-fledged sport in this country, and I am ashamed of it. Both of our countries are experiencing tremendous changes in demographics, security, and position in world politics. Both of our countries need each other for the mutual defense against those who seek to destroy independence, both foreign and domestic. Especially since France is our #1 anti-terror allay. It is my hope that those who think the French are pushy and stuck-up actually visit France and find a people who are full of life, joy, and wonder.

Just as last year, a Frenchman - David Moncoutié - won today's stage at the Tour de France. Moncoutié is sure to never go hungry or thirsty in France again for his breakaway with 37 km to go in Stage 12 win. The crowd was so loud, the EuroSport audio feed had to be tuned down.

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This is the permanent home of Quatorze Juillet. I wrote this post at 14:39 on July 14, 2005. This post is part of grubbykid.com, a weblog. If you liked this entry, why don't you read some other posts such as All You need to Know about Rove & Valerie Plame or Rove Supporters are in favor of outing CIA Agents? Or you could go to the site archives or return home. All are good choices.

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Some descriptive tags for this entry are: Bastille BastilleDay France culture celebration TourDeFrance TdF photos.

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Some descriptive tags for this entry are: Bastille, Bastille Day, celebration, culture, France, photos, TdF, TourDeFrance.

Mommy... what's a tag?