My wife and I spent 20 days in September in France, traveling through the country from Trouville-sur-Mer to Dijon, Chamonix, Nice, Avignon, Albi, Aix-en-Provence, and many far away villages and small towns, spending time in Paris two days when we arrived and three days when we left France. Being in that many cities and countryside, an impression was formed and I started understanding the feelings and emotion of the white billionaires especially those who came to the U.S.A. from abroadand made it big here.
We were on a tour staying at good hotels and eating at good restaurants, but NEVER had a steak. Europe (or at least France and Italy, a country we had visited before) has a lot of things small. Cars are small, houses are smaller than in the US, highway lanes are narrower. The people are contented, quieter, and somewhat lethargic.
And skinny.
They are tall for sure and probably meet President Trump’s requirement of employment of 6 feet high. But when standing next to our male tour-mates from the U.S., Canada, and Australia, they looked less macho-looking and on the lesser side in terms of weight.
The absence of steak offers the best explanation for the state of their bodies.
A few years back, we were in Italy. The only time we had good steak was when we dined at the Machiavelli Winery in Tuscany. The rest of the tour offered no meat – and the food, well, forgettable because I don’t remember any. If I ate anything over there as tasty or nearly as tasty as In-n-Out hamburger, I would never forget.
Now, in France we encountered the same problem. I agree with my wife that it must have meat but either meat is more expensive than other fares or the country has a secret don’t-treat-the-tourists-well policy. I have been immerged in the American culture for quite some time so I may not understand French culture as well as I have hoped. But I observe that they discriminate severely against Canard (Duck) in favor of Oie (Goose). You find duck foie gras everywhere but not goose foie gras even in high-end restaurants, not because they political-correctly oppose the force-feeding but because the duck foie gras production is less complicated and less expensive. Have you ever heard of a French who avoids gourmet food just because it is more expensive and more complicated to produce?
At the Fish Market in Trouville-sur-Mer, we saw a lobster lying immobile on a bed of ice (naturally less expensive than the ones swimming in a tank) priced at 98 Euros per kilo, about $50 a pound at the current rate. In an Oriental grocery store in our area, a pound of lobster costs $16(+-).
No doubt, in America, food is more available in terms of variety and quantity and more affordable.
At the end of the trip, I persuaded my wife to spend a little more money to dine at an upscale restaurant in Paris. The décor was beautifully Grand Siecle with a modern twist, the service was attentive, and the menu was satisfying as it listed steak, which was the item I ordered. When I ate it, I looked at my wife but did not say anything to disappoint her but I was disappointed. Was I pretentious to feel that the steak was not as good as an American one? I dismissed the negative thinking and continued enjoying an exceptionally beautiful evening, our last one in Paris.
A week after returning to the U.S. we found ourselves at a steakhouse. The taste of their steak vindicated my feeling about Europe’s.
Then, a thought occurred to me. I think that I understand why the billionaires, especially the ones who came from outside of the U.S. and made it big here, have strong emotion and feeling when it comes to immigration. It has a lot to do with cultural fighting but also, in no small part, their feeling about the state of the body of their first cousins in Europe. They feel indignant and outrageous that their European cousins look skinny, don’t have good steak, and don’t readily have goose foie gras while their distant cousins, the immigrants, from South America get fat and big because they can get good steak anywhere in the U.S., and a short trip to Las Vegas would serve them, wearing just a T shirt and jeans, foie gras d’oie.
The fight could have been carried out methodically, quietly, justly, and effectively. Because of the emotion and deep feelings of the privileged, it has been ferocious and cruel that is avoidable.
Now, the fight is spread, intentionally, to Europe.
The solution as I have advocated before: A strong, prosperous, and independent Europe. It has a large and fertile land mass, talented inhabitants, exceptional strategists and fighters, pride, and high spirit. That it can be on its own and become a strong pillar in the new world is an accepted fact. It just needs a will.
And if you need land to raise cattle and oies, learn from the Japanese: buy or rent lands from other countries with vast unused lands such as the US, Australia or Canada. You can even perform a diplomatic feat by negotiating with Russia for such productive deal and, why not, a side deal regarding the Ukraine problem.
JOHN P. LE PHONG (This article appears on thelephongjournal.com, X, and Facebook)
