patriotism

Vive la France

July 14, 2011 By Jillian

The U.S. isn’t the only country that celebrates an independence day in July. France celebrates the end of it’s monarchy with Bastille Day. In 1789 French subjects stormed the royal prison fortress of Bastille, which at the time held only seven prisoners. Still, the fortress was a symbol of the monarchy and the fall of the Bastille became the flashpoint of the French Revolution.

Today it is celebrated as the birth of modern France with all of the parades, pomp and circumstance an independence celebration usually comes with. Having lived in Washington, D.C. for a number of years, I can only say that watching a nation’s independence or national celebrations from the capital city is without comparison. For sure, Bastille Day celebrations in Paris are probably some of the largest in the country and for good reason. The government likes to spend money where the government can appreciate that money! The annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris is the oldest in Europe and has been ongoing since 1880. In the spirit of the European Union, the French have recently invited foreign troops to participate in the parade, even inviting old enemies such as the British and Germans to march!

France is still very regional though, and its people, culture and even dialect vary from one province to the next. Although Paris may have the grand military parade, each province has its own particular celebrations for Bastille Day. In Provence, a region known for it’s history and incredible geography, St-Remy-de-Provence and Maussane-les-Alpilles hold “une manifestation tuarine” or a running of the bulls on July 13th and 14th. Like the French revolutionaries who stormed the Bastille, these bulls storm down the main streets, lead by cowboys on horseback to corral them back into a pen!

Fireworks in a capital city are breathtaking, but in my mind, fireworks over the ocean can’t be beat. If you’re like us and would be celebrating in Provence for the bulls, Terre Blanche is a great place to catch Bastille Day fireworks. Provence, home to the French Riviera and the foothills of the Alps seems to have the best of both worlds, which would make it a very unique and spectacular place to watch fireworks. Plus their fireworks displays are apparently rather extravagant, but it is the French Riviera so really, I would expect no less! (Considering the celebration lasts but one day, there is still plenty of time to visit the spa or the beach with a bottle of wine in hand.)

Bastille Day may be a French holiday but it’s celebrated all over the world. In the U.S. huge Bastille Day celebrations close down 60th Street in New York City and in Washington, D.C. a French restaurant sponsors a running of the waiters for charity. London boasts one of the largest Bastille Day celebrations outside of France, their 2010 celebration included cabaret dancers and crepes. What more could be better?

Photo Credit: CafePaname[dot]com, Flickr user byammar under the Creative Commons license, Flickr user melanieandjohn under the Creative Commons license, and ElegantHolidays[dot]co[dot]uk.

Proud of My Country

July 4, 2011 By Danny

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to attend a conference with some big name speakers. The first day, we heard from former President George W. Bush. On the second day we heard from the former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

Bush’s speech was anecdotal and funny. He found a voice with the audience that, I think, if he’d had at the White House he would have found a far greater amount of popularity. He vehemently defended many of his most controversial decisions and went so far as to offer information that many in the audience had not heard before…which seriously affected my view of his presidency. The next day when Brown spoke the mood was more business like as the conference was filled with financial professionals and Brown was the former British finance minister. He was still jovial but in speaking on much more ‘bread and butter’ topics he found two opportunities to share this thought:

I’m proud of you and of the things you have done in this country. I’m proud of America.

The audience was moved and took the time to clap and cheer. I doubt that many really understood though where Brown was coming from. He didn’t care about the size of our economy or the might of our military. He probably has never had the [mis]fortune to see a US flag turned into a tank top and I know for certain he’s never tried Jillian’s delicious bison chili. As the talk went on he explained, tactfully, where he and his compliments came from and he did what any British politician does…quote Winston Churchill.

–You can always count on America to do the right thing…after they’ve tried everything else. —Winston Churchill.

As cynical as that statement is and sounds, it’s right. All over the world we’ve met people who have been awed in some way by something America has done. In Cape Town, it was the hospice worker who raved of the value of the AIDS drugs that were being provided for free. In Colombia, one man remarked to me that he had a friend in the US…Obama. In Munich a man outside a beer hall stopped Jillian to tell her about how US servicemen would rip their uniforms on purpose so they could pay his mother to mend the seams.

My proudest “America” moment came before our big trip ever began. We were back in Washington, DC at the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival. During the festival a US state, foreign country and government agency showcase themselves on the national mall for a few weeks around Independence Day. This particular year, the agency was NASA while the foreign country was Bhutan. I’ll never forget walking into the tent with the space suits, watching as one of the Bhutanese archers I had just watched shoot his arrows, stood silently with a boot in his hands. Here he was, about as far away from his village in the Himalaya as he thought possible, holding a boot that had been on the moon.

Photo: Flag Waving

May 30, 2011 By Jillian

America is a bit like Washington, D.C. That is to say almost everyone is from somewhere else and we’re proud of it. We label ourselves as Irish Americans, Asian Americans or Jewish Americans, and although we may be proud of our heritage, unlike transients in D.C., we have no intention of ever going back.

My father’s side of the family has been in the U.S since the early 18th century when one man arrived from Ireland as an indentured servant. Eventually he was freed and we can trace our lineage, although it’s a bit spotty, back to the founding years of this country. The other side of my family arrived in the early 20th century. We are what my dad says lovingly “Heinz-57”, our family heritage has a little bit of everything. I’m part Native American (several different tribes), part Irish, part Scottish, part English, part Ukrainian and the list goes on and on…

Today in the U.S, we celebrate memorial day, a day to remember those that have given their lives for our country. They have fought and died for the ideals and values that we hold sacred. They are from all sorts of backgrounds, races, cultures and classes. Some arrived as servants, others as slaves and others as refugees. Since our founding days we have been a country of immigrants and over time we’ve meshed into the society we are today. Hopefully when you look at the U.S. be you an American or a foreigner, you see that same mosaic of cultures today. Not one ideology represents us all, not one way of thinking or one political party can encompass all our opinions. We are a “Heinz 57” nation, a nation comprised of many varieties of people.

Today’s picture comes from Hawaii, it’s the flag that commemorates the USS Arizona, destroyed in the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

Vive la France

Proud of My Country

Photo: Flag Waving

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