{"id":61331,"date":"2018-05-28T13:06:07","date_gmt":"2018-05-28T19:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=61331"},"modified":"2018-09-05T09:53:40","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T15:53:40","slug":"a-battlefield-report-from-paris-third-world-hellhole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/05\/a-battlefield-report-from-paris-third-world-hellhole.html","title":{"rendered":"A battlefield report from Paris, “third-world hellhole”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Art<\/a>
A view of Monet\u2019s garden at Giverny, by Art Anderson \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been informed by several people that, in the words of one of them, Paris has now become \u201ca third-world hellhole.\u201d \u00a0Why? \u00a0Because of Islam. \u00a0Because a number of Muslims have moved here.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been in and out of Paris now for many more decades than I would like to admit, and have been here at least every other year for quite a while now. \u00a0(This is my second stay in the city over the past twelve or thirteen months.) \u00a0I\u2019ve tried really, really hard to discern the evidence that Paris has turned into Fallujah or Kabul but, thus far, I\u2019ve been unable to see it. \u00a0Perhaps I lack the necessary eye of faith.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the meantime, though, there\u2019s this wonderful story:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Spiderman\u2019 granted French citizenship after rescuing child from Paris balcony\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not too difficult, I think, to see that the name\u00a0Mamoudou<\/em> \u2014 affixed to an immigrant from Mali, a country that is 90% Muslim \u2014 is a form of the Arabic name Muhammad<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oh, the blight of Muslim immigration!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anyway, back to the \u201cthird-world hellhole\u201d that is today\u2019s Paris:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our room is small, but it has a magnificent view. \u00a0Our balcony overlooks the\u00a0Jardin des Tuileries<\/a>, across which we can see the\u00a0Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay<\/a> and, beyond, both the golden dome of Les Invalides<\/a>\u00a0and the Montparnasse Tower. \u00a0To the right, we see the gold tipped obelisk that stands in the Place de la Concorde<\/a> \u2014 ironically named, since, during the French Revolution, it was the location for the decapitation by guillotine (often applauded lustily by loud and bloodthirsty crowds) of such figures as\u00a0<\/span>King Louis XVI,\u00a0Queen\u00a0Marie Antoinette,\u00a0Charlotte Corday,\u00a0Georges Danton, the great chemist\u00a0Antoine Lavoisier,\u00a0Maximilien Robespierre, and\u00a0Louis de Saint-Just \u2014 and the Grand Palais<\/a> and, further off but still looming quite large, a very clear view of the Eiffel Tower<\/a>. \u00a0To the left, we have an unobstructed view of the grand\u00a0Mus\u00e9e du Louvre<\/a> and, in the distance beyond it, of the twin towers of the Cathedral of\u00a0Notre-Dame de Paris<\/a> and of the great white or gray dome of the\u00a0<\/span>Panth\u00e9on<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Louvre Museum, with the Tuileries in the foreground and, in the distance beyond, the two towers of Notre-Dame \u00a0\u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

All of these things appear to be intact. \u00a0None of them seems to have been destroyed by hordes of invading Muslims.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, I\u2019m inclined to think that the Place de la Concorde is a much more pleasant place today than it was in, say, 1793, during the heyday of the Revolution. \u00a0And Notre-Dame hasn\u2019t yet been turned into a mosque. \u00a0It\u2019s still a Catholic cathedral, in fact, still the seat of the Archbishop of Paris. \u00a0(Back in the murderous days of the Revolution, it was, for some time, the official seat of the state-sponsored atheistic religion called the \u201cCult of Reason\u201d or\u00a0Culte de la Raison<\/span><\/i>.)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Art<\/a>
Water lilies and willows at Giverny \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0(Art Anderson, Wikimedia CC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been fairly relaxed here, after five intense weeks in the Middle East. \u00a0I\u2019ve read a couple of mystery novels. \u00a0We\u2019ve strolled in the Tuileries. \u00a0We\u2019ve eaten some excellent cr\u00eapes, both savory and sweet, and enjoyed some delectable croissants \u2014 which is rather remarkable if this is now a Muslim-dominated third-world city, given the culinary legend associated with the origin of croissants<\/a>. \u00a0We spent much of today sampling, yet again, the magnificent collections of the Louvre. \u00a0Earlier, we went out to Giverny, to visit the home and gardens of the great impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I looked to see whether any of the statues or paintings at the Louvre had been retrofitted with hijabs or burkas, but I was unable to find any that had. \u00a0(I saw an ad today for the Lido de Paris nightclub, and I can promise you that none of the dancers there<\/em> were wearing burkas.) \u00a0The call to prayer doesn\u2019t appear to be sounding from atop the tour Eiffel<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Giverny,<\/a>
Another view of Monet\u2019s garden at Giverny, by Art Anderson (Wikimedia CC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But back, for a moment, to Monet\u2019s Giverny:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A couple of months ago, I made a repeat pilgrimage to Frank Lloyd Wright\u2019s Taliessin West, near Phoenix. \u00a0And now I\u2019ve finally made my pilgrimage to Giverny. \u00a0(My wife has visited Monet\u2019s house and garden at least twice before.) \u00a0So I can report what I want, in case anybody out there is thinking of a gift for me: \u00a0I want a house done in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright \u2014 something like Fallingwater<\/a> would do nicely \u2014 surrounded by gardens in the style of Monet\u2019s Giverny. \u00a0Okay?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Monet's<\/a>
Another view of Monet\u2019s garden by Art Anderson \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0(Wikimedia Commons image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

On a (somewhat) more serious note: \u00a0Claude Monet loved light and gardens. \u00a0In his last years, though \u2014 ironically, and rather sadly reminiscent of Beethoven\u2019s deafness \u2014 he suffered from cataracts and declining vision. \u00a0Many who have returned from near-death experiences have reported supremely acute and clear vision as well as richly warm light, and have told of seeing indescribably beautiful gardens in the spiritual world, featuring colors unlike any in this world and varieties of plants that they could not identify. \u00a0I like to imagine Monet \u2014 of all people \u2014 opening his newly enhanced eyes upon such scenes.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Posted from Paris, France (aka \u201cIslamabad-on-the-Seine\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 I\u2019ve been informed by several people that, in the words of one of them, Paris has now become \u201ca third-world hellhole.\u201d \u00a0Why? \u00a0Because of Islam. \u00a0Because a number of Muslims have moved here. \u00a0 I\u2019ve been in and out of Paris now for many more decades than I would like to admit, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA battlefield report from Paris, "third-world hellhole"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    I've been informed by several people that, in the words of one of them, Paris has now become "a third-world hellhole." \u00a0Why? \u00a0Because of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/05\/a-battlefield-report-from-paris-third-world-hellhole.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A battlefield report from Paris, "third-world hellhole"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    I've been informed by several people that, in the words of one of them, Paris has now become "a third-world hellhole." \u00a0Why? 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