After our daughter had died from meningitis in June of 2006, my wife and I made the decision to escape to Europe to grieve. We have never regretted that decision because it gave us the space and the time to try and come to terms with a devastating life event. For me, it was my first long term exposure to French culture and I have remained a Francophile ever since. I have so many happy memories from that time but I would like to share one with you in particular. Before we left France and moved South and East to Italy, we spent a few days in Avignon. It really is a beautiful city with an atmosphere all of it's own. Sitting in the Place de L'Horloge during the famous festival d'Avignon, my eyes wandered to the impressive town hall which featured the large clock which gave it's name to the square. Underneath were written three words. Three simple words which can be found on public buildings throughout France. Three words which emerged in the aftermath of the bloody French Revolution in 1789. Liberte, egalite et fraternite. Liberty, equality and fraternity (brotherhood). They are fine words which set a clear aspiration for the values of a country which spurned it's monarchy in favour of a republic. 225 years later we see these three words being scrutinised more than ever.
"The prophet is avenged" said the man who had just left the offices of Charlie Hebdo this week. Moments earlier he had shot dead a room full of cartoonists. He had been offended by their decision to feature images of Mohamed in satirical cartoons. The cartoonists lost their lives for no other reason than they parodied and poked fun at aspects of French life which contravened the core principles of their republic. Homophobia, political hypocrisy, Judaism, Catholicism, Islam and many other parts of French society were all treated with casual indifference by a group of unashamedly left wing cartoonists employing art to get their point across in ways which words never can. The denouement to this sad chapter was delivered today with yet more deaths. Quite how murder can be seen to avenge offence is as unclear today as it has always been.
During our trip to Europe, we moved on to Italy, and while there, I rediscovered my own faith. The loss of my daughter had made me question my faith. Faced with the loss of a loved one, such an outcome is neither unusual nor unexpected. Only when I was in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome did my faith return to me. It would be as pointless for me to try and explain that to anyone as it would be for me to inflict my faith on anyone else. I would presume to do neither because to each man his own. That is where the liberty comes in. Freedom is a much vaunted word but it is important to understand what it actually means and the price we must sometimes pay for it. It means a great deal. Freedom of expression cuts both ways. I can express my views knowing that others will agree or disagree with them as they will. Others likewise can express their views which I don't always agree with. But I wouldn't shoot them for expressing a view contrary to my own citing that my belief had been avenged. That is where the equality comes in. I know the value of respect for my fellow man and strive to achieve that every day. That is where the fraternity comes in. As far as values go, this triad of liberty, equality and fraternity give us an admirable code for life. They mean so much and yet they are just three small words. Others poke fun at my faith with regularity and that is their prerogative. As I said earlier, I respect their right to do so even if it would not be my choice. Their actions have no effect on my faith. My faith is very personal and something from which I derive great strength. That is all.
France is grieving this week. Grieving for the loss of life but grieving for something even more profound. The core values which underpin their democracy have been publicly violated. When Lee Rigby was unforgivably murdered in cold blood in London, his murderers did not attempt to evade the justice system and justice was served upon them. I hope they will never again enjoy the freedom which they took from Lee. Whether or not we have a faith, the taking of another man's life is unacceptable and intolerable. To accept or tolerate such actions is to abandon the basic premise of democracy. This week, I have been grieving for France because the actions of a tiny minority have struck at the heart of their culture. I only hope they react in the best way and resist the temptation to support the extremist views of the Front Nationale. That would be a real shame a grave error.
But what of the political cartoons? They are hardly new! That we know of, this form of satire has been around in the UK since the mid 19th century. I reflected this week how the great French playwright Moliere would have reacted to this outrage. Like Oscar Wilde two hundred years later, he would undoubtedly have had a field day playing with the arguments of the perpetrators. These are the men we must admire because they say what the rest of think and do so in ways which show apparently serious subjects in a rather more realistic light. Moliere famously said, "It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we don't do". He said a lot more besides but I particularly like this quote because en masse, France has responded in the best possible way this week by coming out in droves to stand up for what they hold dear. During his own life, Moliere incurred the wrath of the Catholic church (which was considerably more powerful in those days) and moralists like Pascal and Joubert.
A century or so after Moliere came the genius of Voltaire. Of his many aphorisms, truisms and axioms, Voltaire famously said, "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise". I wonder how prophetic those words will prove to be? It is up to the French and all of us to play our part in ensuring that these extremists don't hold the upper hand. Their weapon is fear but collectively, we must not allow our every day lives to be threatened by such callous deeds. We must all strive to promote the founding principles of the French Republic; liberty, equality and fraternity.
As the French have been confronting the horrors of an assault on their democracy, we in the UK have been watching the latest developments in the case of the football player Ched Evans. Found guilty of rape by a jury in a UK court, he spent half of a five years prison sentence. He continues to protest his innocence and the brutal truth is that only he knows. More pertinently, he has served his sentence and, like it or not, that is how our justice system works. Whether he is signed by another football club is a matter of conjecture as a swathe of online petitions spring up to protest at his right to resume his career as a professional football player. If he does get that chance, he won't be the first professional football player to have spent time behind bars and I doubt he will be the last. During his time spent in prison, he worked as a painter and decorator and I can't help but wonder how many would be protesting if he was now earning his money painting and decorating. Professional football players are well paid by any measure and that perhaps rubs salt in to the wound when a man has been found guilty of so serious a crime as rape - irrespective of his protestations to the contrary. But if he does once more ply his trade as a well paid football player, it is ultimately fans at the turnstyles who will choose. As they say, "you pay your money and you take your choice".
So as the moralists feast on the news items from the past week, I return to Avignon. In 1309, Avignon became the venue for papacy until 1377. The papal palace is still there as is the curious bridge which extends two thirds of the way across the majestic Rhone river. The papacy of course has long since relocated to Rome and the bridge, which once extended the entire width of the river, has now succumbed to the relentless power of the river. In all, seven popes reigned in Avignon during a turbulent period in which two thirds of the city was wiped out by the Black Death. It is estimated that the Black Death reduced the population of the world from 450 million to 350 million. It is estimated that half of the population of Europe succumbed to it in just four years. It originated in the East and migrated West along the Silk Road. There are few diseases which have exerted such a brutal trimming of the human race. Then as now, people sought to blame others for it's introduction and spread. In fact, the one aspect of human nature which can solve so many of our problems was also the main reason why it claimed so many lives. People in regular contact with one another were unwittingly most at risk and yet today, the need for us all to come closer together has seldom been greater. Together, we can confront the intolerance which threatens the democracy which we hold so dear. Together, we can step back and reconsider what really matters to us as we weave our way through life with it's endless challenges and complexities.
"The prophet is avenged" said the man who had just left the offices of Charlie Hebdo this week. Moments earlier he had shot dead a room full of cartoonists. He had been offended by their decision to feature images of Mohamed in satirical cartoons. The cartoonists lost their lives for no other reason than they parodied and poked fun at aspects of French life which contravened the core principles of their republic. Homophobia, political hypocrisy, Judaism, Catholicism, Islam and many other parts of French society were all treated with casual indifference by a group of unashamedly left wing cartoonists employing art to get their point across in ways which words never can. The denouement to this sad chapter was delivered today with yet more deaths. Quite how murder can be seen to avenge offence is as unclear today as it has always been.
During our trip to Europe, we moved on to Italy, and while there, I rediscovered my own faith. The loss of my daughter had made me question my faith. Faced with the loss of a loved one, such an outcome is neither unusual nor unexpected. Only when I was in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome did my faith return to me. It would be as pointless for me to try and explain that to anyone as it would be for me to inflict my faith on anyone else. I would presume to do neither because to each man his own. That is where the liberty comes in. Freedom is a much vaunted word but it is important to understand what it actually means and the price we must sometimes pay for it. It means a great deal. Freedom of expression cuts both ways. I can express my views knowing that others will agree or disagree with them as they will. Others likewise can express their views which I don't always agree with. But I wouldn't shoot them for expressing a view contrary to my own citing that my belief had been avenged. That is where the equality comes in. I know the value of respect for my fellow man and strive to achieve that every day. That is where the fraternity comes in. As far as values go, this triad of liberty, equality and fraternity give us an admirable code for life. They mean so much and yet they are just three small words. Others poke fun at my faith with regularity and that is their prerogative. As I said earlier, I respect their right to do so even if it would not be my choice. Their actions have no effect on my faith. My faith is very personal and something from which I derive great strength. That is all.
France is grieving this week. Grieving for the loss of life but grieving for something even more profound. The core values which underpin their democracy have been publicly violated. When Lee Rigby was unforgivably murdered in cold blood in London, his murderers did not attempt to evade the justice system and justice was served upon them. I hope they will never again enjoy the freedom which they took from Lee. Whether or not we have a faith, the taking of another man's life is unacceptable and intolerable. To accept or tolerate such actions is to abandon the basic premise of democracy. This week, I have been grieving for France because the actions of a tiny minority have struck at the heart of their culture. I only hope they react in the best way and resist the temptation to support the extremist views of the Front Nationale. That would be a real shame a grave error.
But what of the political cartoons? They are hardly new! That we know of, this form of satire has been around in the UK since the mid 19th century. I reflected this week how the great French playwright Moliere would have reacted to this outrage. Like Oscar Wilde two hundred years later, he would undoubtedly have had a field day playing with the arguments of the perpetrators. These are the men we must admire because they say what the rest of think and do so in ways which show apparently serious subjects in a rather more realistic light. Moliere famously said, "It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we don't do". He said a lot more besides but I particularly like this quote because en masse, France has responded in the best possible way this week by coming out in droves to stand up for what they hold dear. During his own life, Moliere incurred the wrath of the Catholic church (which was considerably more powerful in those days) and moralists like Pascal and Joubert.
A century or so after Moliere came the genius of Voltaire. Of his many aphorisms, truisms and axioms, Voltaire famously said, "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise". I wonder how prophetic those words will prove to be? It is up to the French and all of us to play our part in ensuring that these extremists don't hold the upper hand. Their weapon is fear but collectively, we must not allow our every day lives to be threatened by such callous deeds. We must all strive to promote the founding principles of the French Republic; liberty, equality and fraternity.
As the French have been confronting the horrors of an assault on their democracy, we in the UK have been watching the latest developments in the case of the football player Ched Evans. Found guilty of rape by a jury in a UK court, he spent half of a five years prison sentence. He continues to protest his innocence and the brutal truth is that only he knows. More pertinently, he has served his sentence and, like it or not, that is how our justice system works. Whether he is signed by another football club is a matter of conjecture as a swathe of online petitions spring up to protest at his right to resume his career as a professional football player. If he does get that chance, he won't be the first professional football player to have spent time behind bars and I doubt he will be the last. During his time spent in prison, he worked as a painter and decorator and I can't help but wonder how many would be protesting if he was now earning his money painting and decorating. Professional football players are well paid by any measure and that perhaps rubs salt in to the wound when a man has been found guilty of so serious a crime as rape - irrespective of his protestations to the contrary. But if he does once more ply his trade as a well paid football player, it is ultimately fans at the turnstyles who will choose. As they say, "you pay your money and you take your choice".
So as the moralists feast on the news items from the past week, I return to Avignon. In 1309, Avignon became the venue for papacy until 1377. The papal palace is still there as is the curious bridge which extends two thirds of the way across the majestic Rhone river. The papacy of course has long since relocated to Rome and the bridge, which once extended the entire width of the river, has now succumbed to the relentless power of the river. In all, seven popes reigned in Avignon during a turbulent period in which two thirds of the city was wiped out by the Black Death. It is estimated that the Black Death reduced the population of the world from 450 million to 350 million. It is estimated that half of the population of Europe succumbed to it in just four years. It originated in the East and migrated West along the Silk Road. There are few diseases which have exerted such a brutal trimming of the human race. Then as now, people sought to blame others for it's introduction and spread. In fact, the one aspect of human nature which can solve so many of our problems was also the main reason why it claimed so many lives. People in regular contact with one another were unwittingly most at risk and yet today, the need for us all to come closer together has seldom been greater. Together, we can confront the intolerance which threatens the democracy which we hold so dear. Together, we can step back and reconsider what really matters to us as we weave our way through life with it's endless challenges and complexities.
Comments
Post a Comment