I often wonder about my friends here, fellow Ex-Pats, who have chosen to leave family, friends and familiar things to live this life in France. About what drew us here, what particular common thing allowed us to make the decision. Almost all of my friends are creatives- artists of many different forms: painters, sculptors, writers, musicians, weavers, cooks. I’m not certain how I fit into that group, but I seem to do just fine.

We all come from different places- Canada, the American south, Hawaii, Texas, Detroit, California, Scotland, England. We have differing levels of education, varying family structures and a range of economic resources. With a few exceptions, most of us are continuing to use our creativity to be able to afford to stay here.

We do, however, have two major things in common. First, we have an enormous appreciation for France, the people, and the governmental structure. We love how the French live their lives, putting family, friends and food ahead of money, possessions, and flash. We are grateful that we get to live here everytime we walk to the Saturday marché, or drive in the countryside and see the land, whether it is recently plowed or overflowing with produce. We feel protected by the French healthcare system, which welcomed us in (once we produced copious documentation to prove who we were, where we came from, and that we actually lived here.) and takes care of us for as little as 25 Euros per doctor visit. We love that the French government provides the same care for all, including us. We feel as safe as we can from the Coronavirus because the government has responsibly stepped in to impose necessary restrictions, balancing as well as possible, the virus and the economy. We adore our townspeople who are warm, welcoming, cantankerous at times, and all of whom are wearing masks. We respect the fact that the government requires that anyone entering an commercial establishment or office must wear a mask or they cannot enter. And, our neighbours are following that rule without protest.

And, second, we are watching, from a distance, in horror as news from from the US streams across the Atlantic. COVID 19 numbers, the election, the violence. It is distressing for us to see, but i’m sure, not as distressing as it is for those living in the middle of it.

And, here is where I get political. Because I have been thinking about this for weeks, months- well, four years. As the results came in after the last Presidential election, I felt fear for the next four years because I did not believe we had elected a person who understood what he had been elected to do. As an entrepreneur, running a one-man-show, he made decisions unilaterally, without consideration of other opinions and without consequence, except for his failed ventures. He had no one to answer to but himself. This really isn’t what the role of the President of the United States should be. The President is elected to represent all of the people. A President can’t possibly know everything, so there needs to be advisement from a well chosen team of informed experts in a rage of fields, so the President can make and informed decision.

I tried to temper my disappointment with the thought that we have checks and balances. Surely the Congress and the Supreme Court would keep him in check. But that didn’t happen.

My greatest sadness, that night and in the many that have followed, is that my grandchildren’s generation would have this as their example of President. That this might be the behaviour they would model. That this is the government that would see as they learned about our country.

And, so, I ask: if Right To Life is your issue, is aborting a baby worse than letting hundreds of thousands die because you chose not to protect them in a pandemic? If economics is your issue, can you really say that the government has made you more money in the past 4 years? (ok, this question is restricted to the 99% of the population who don’t have billions). And, if Christian Values is your issue, do you really think that name calling, avoiding responsibility, and fingerprinting is a value worth supporting? We have a President who relied on bankruptcy to keep his business going, and we have paid for it by allowing him to morally bankrupt our country.

I am anticipating the election results with as much anxiety as I did Christmas as a child. I can’t wait to see if Santa brings me what I asked for.