How Do I Explain?

This comic strip gave me pause.

I have lately wondered how I would explain to certain acquaintances how I feel about their home country (France). It's a tough one. Without much effort I could probably write 10,000 words about what's wrong with the nation of France.

It's a shame really; I'm thankful for their chefs, their wine and their hunting dogs. From where I stand however, they seem determined to allow all that to be destroyed in order to remain not-Americans. Pride in your culture is one thing. Allowing your civil society to be destroyed from within because you can only see enemies when they are in the northern half of the Western Hemisphere isn't a way to preserve your culture.

I've run in to this before. When I was a gymnasium student in Sweden people wanted to know why we Americans thought the People's Republic of China was our enemy. I told them that it is because they openly declare their hostility and they act accordingly. The nation of France is very much the same, right down to selling advanced weapons to dictators with whom we are on the verge of war.