Random is best

I've been on the downward curve of cultural immersion this week - most likely a result of re-entering the big city after so much travel last week. The most ironic thing has happened though: a spontaneous act of a professor that normally would have made me feel awkward has actually brought my spirits back up.

Here is what happened. On Wednesday for my architecture class, we went to visit the cathedral Saint Vincent de Paul, not far from Gare du Nord. This cathedral not only represents the 19th century practice of appropriating styles from previous centuries but also demonstrates a good example of a paleo-christian church. The basic layout and spirit reflect the mysterious reverence of early Catholics in their vision of what a place of worship should be. For inspiration, these early Christians looked to the Roman basilica, which was not a religious building but a secular meeting place. The additions made under Christian influence have lasted even to modern times, such as the altar and the pulpit.

After we visited this eerie monument to times past (eerie because we were the only ones there), our professor decided to take all five of us out for a cup of coffee. I suppose this sort of thing is more of a European concept, since naturally it looks weird for five female students to go out in public with a male professor, especially when he's buying. But actually, this was one of the most normal things that has happened to me this week. We casually drank our lovely free drinks, mine a hot chocolate, and then the professor proceeded to discuss something that is very casual in France: politics. Lovely. This is one area in which I am not well-versed, and I generally make my opinions known with the utmost timidness.

As our professor opened the conversation with, "Do you think Obama will be re-elected? Do the Republicans have a chance?" what are five un-suspecting Americans to do but just say, "Well, the Republicans have a chance, but not a great one." Naturally, this was unsettling but honest; I am a Republican, but sadly, an uneducated Republican. Who am I to deny that President Obama is not only a competent leader but a good president? I just wanted to give my party a chance, even though I actually don't have any clue who these candidates are in terms of their politics.

Anyway, the conversation was mostly one-sided, as the professor is an enthusiast of American politics, and apart from being very French, he probably knows more than I do. Maybe it's just that he is more intelligent about his understandings of government. That is definitely a very French way to be: always curious about other points of view but staying firm in personal convictions. He wanted to discuss something interesting to him, and I was ashamed that I live in a country that I don't really understand, even here in France! I haven't studied government in a year and a half. Here's a Frenchman who follows the speeches of President Obama more closely than I would ever follow President Sarkozy.

This professor said one thing that stuck out more that the rest. "You have to be able to view your country as the world views it in order to have a better opinion of the things that are going on." Clearly, he said it better, because it was French. Come on, the most boring TV add is more interesting in French. (And sometimes it's the same commercial we have in the US, just translated.)

If we in America took ourselves more seriously, we would be able to have a better country in the present, instead of just letting our president harp on and on about our future and how we have to do this and that, etc., to improve it. My generation is really guilty of a general apathy regarding the future, because we have forgotten that we inherit it. At some point very soon, our generation is going to be calling the shots. In a lot of ways, we already are, and that's why we can't seem to have politicians who really care about their constituencies and who can do more than promise change and reform.

Take this French example to heart. In the banlieue or the suburbs of Paris, one can find the highest percentage of illegals and people who have immigrated from other countries. You can also find the highest rate of abstention come election time. Why? It's the same reason there are so many regions and demographics who are under-represented in the U.S. People aren't voting, and the candidate has to incentive to represent their needs. Candidates just want to be elected, like any good business men and women. If we want them to be of the people and for the people, we have to start supporting good ideas, not just letting them fight over botched compromises until their passed in Congress and then say, "Hey, that's not right!" What's not right is our apathy. Since when did we stop being a democracy?

So this random moment is really making me think. I don't even want this to be about politics, but there it is. My architecture professor sparked a torrent of feeling in me that I have never felt - at least not in a while. And he's right. I never would have realized that I needed to wake up if I hadn't gone outside of the U.S. In France, Obama can do no wrong, while in the U.S., he has some pretty vigilant haters who have their own TV shows. The reality is that we can't just let other people tell us what to think. I for one don't want that to be the way I lead my life.