Jan

21

Gouverneur MorrisI am reading Theodore Roosevelt's biography of Gouverneur Morris; the book is proof, if one needed any, that Roosevelt was a true Renaissance man, even if his politics were almost as lunatic as Morgan feared.

Morris was not only the actual author of our Federal Constitution but also the greatest political observer among the Founding Fathers. At a time when Jefferson, Thomas Paine and others were celebrating the Revolution of 1789, Morris was deeply saddened by what he saw first-hand in Paris; and he urged President Washington to avoid favoring the Revolutionary government against the British.

But, if Morris thought the French Revolution was destined to failure and folly, he never lost his appreciation for France. Neither should we. It is footless for any of us, at this late date, to continue to take the Band of Brothers version of the Normandy campaign as an accurate military history. The Free French, along with the Poles and the Canadians (whose contributions are also conveniently forgotten) did more of the actual ground fighting in the Falaise Pocket than Americans did; and they paid a terrible price for it. General Leclerc , who understood and practiced tank warfare better than Patton did, was a brave enough man to understand that the Vietnamese wanted the same freedoms that Americans had fought for in their own revolution and that "anti-Communism" could not, by itself, be sufficient justification for the continuation of direct colonial rule. But for his untimely death (much like our own General Abrams' being struck down by cancer), it is likely that the Indo-Chinese wars would not have happened as they did.

P.S. It is also worth noting that the people of Normandy have never once complained about the thousands of civilians who were killed by largely indiscriminate high level bombing by the American Air Force before, during and after the D-Day landings. Instead, they thank us every year for what our soldiers, sailors and airmen did to liberate their country. Perhaps it is time we thanked them as well.

Chris Tucker writes:

Rallyn and I spent our honeymoon in France and loved every minute of it. Of that, a week in Provence, stayed in Gourdes and had delightful wines from a small local vineyard called La Canorgue in Bonnieux. Decided to go hunt them down, beautiful, beautiful drive, found them, sign on gate says "Back in ten minutes". We wait, proprietor arrives in a few, takes us into her little shop and is just lovely. We buy a bunch of bottles to take home and enjoy a splendid day roving around the countryside, visiting the market in Aix-en-Provence and the lavender at the Cistercian Abbey at Sénanque. Also Avignon, the Pont du Gard. Amazing, history fills every square inch, beautiful country, beautiful architecture, beautiful people that know how to enjoy life.

Flash forward a few years. We are at home watching "A Good Year" and slowly it dawns on me that I've been to the vineyard in the film. Château La Canorgue is the vineyard, just as I remembered it. Wonderful. The film isn't awful either, although the trading scenes in the beginning leave quite a bit to be desired. Crowe's character is a heavy hitter in London. Albert Finney is spectacular.


Comments

Name

Email

Website

Speak your mind

Archives

Resources & Links

Search