The Fox of France

Chapter 506: The Tempest at Sea

As soon as Professor Fafniel's article was published, it immediately sparked strong reactions. In his piece, he publicly urged the American people to abandon their "unrealistic grand national dreams" and pursue smaller, more tangible happiness.

Professor Fafniel stated in his article that the United States has strayed from its founding principles. At the time of its founding, the people of North America did not aim to build a so-called "great power" because they had witnessed how such powers oppress and enslave their people.

Originally, it was to escape religious persecution from a "great power" that ancestors fled to North America. The subsequent American Revolution was entirely spurred by the exploitation from a "great power."

Upon gaining independence, a major concern for the American people was whether, after driving away a tyrant thousands of miles away, they would face thousands of tyrants within a mile. Therefore, initially, North Americans were very cautious of government power, imposing significant restrictions on it.

It was because of this caution that North Americans could enjoy a period of free and peaceful happiness. However, this happiness was at risk of being undermined by ambitions to become a "great power."

A "great power" necessitates a government that amasses substantial financial and material resources. Historically, Britain exploited its people and colonies precisely to amass these resources.

The world's wealth is finite; if it's not in the hands of the people, it's in the hands of the government. A "great power" really refers to a powerful government. Therefore, to become a "great power" inevitably leads to plundering the populace and competing with them for benefits.

In America today, there is a dangerous trend towards building a "powerful nation." Under this trend, America continues to try to expand its territories, leading to military conflicts with neighboring Native American tribes, northern adversary nations, and even countries that helped America win its independence, eventually culminating in war.

Professor Fafniel worries that all this is part of a grand conspiracy. Some are using war to try to establish a big government that can interfere with people's freedom, and striving to become a "great power" is a manifestation of this conspiracy.

Thus, in conclusion, Professor Fafniel calls on everyone to be vigilant and resist the temptation to become a "great power," to preserve the dignity of the common people.

Honestly, Professor Fafniel's article is full of holes and doesn't stand up to scrutiny. For one thing, isn't France a great power? Don't the French people have dignity?

Naturally, there are those who have come forward to criticize Professor Fafniel. Their method of criticism is quite interesting.

They first point out that it is very imprecise to set "the rise of a great power" against "the dignity of the common people." There are examples in the world that manage to ensure both "the rise of a great power" and "the dignity of the common people," such as the French Republic. To not consider how to learn from such a good example as the French Republic, and instead fixate on the evil path of countries like Britain, is clearly wrong.

Why can France's rise as a great power coexist with the dignity of its people, while Britain's cannot?

"Of course, this is due to the differences between British culture and French culture," replied Mr. Greded, a professor at Harvard University and a Doctor of Law from the University of Paris.@@@@

"Traditionally, France is an agricultural country, where agriculture is introspective, cooperative, and seeks harmony with the world. Therefore, when faced with contradictions, the French are always willing to empathize with others. This is why the French people have a particularly strong capacity for empathy. When establishing a powerful state, their goal is very clear: to protect the rights, freedoms, and justice of the people.

Why did we delete such sentences full of humanitarian glory? Because we were also profiting from British atrocities, complicit in their crimes, unwilling to sacrifice our interests for justice. Here, we can clearly see that English greed and tyranny exist in us as well.

Let's compare with France. During the monarchy, France also participated in the slave trade and relied on oppressing black slaves for profit. But when the flags of liberty, democracy, and fraternity were raised high, we see how France responded to the just demands of the black people in Saint-Domingue.

With France's military power at the time, it would have been easy to crush the hardly powerful black resistance. If Saint-Domingue had been ruled by Britain or even us, what would have happened? Undoubtedly, the blood of black people would have dyed all of Saint-Domingue red.

But how did France handle this? France did not betray its conscience for profit; they not only did not suppress these black people, they recognized their citizenship rights and actively supported them in building their own country, turning the former Saint-Domingue, now the Republic of Haiti, into a paradise for black people. This is the real practice in line with the spirit of Christ, the superiority of French culture demonstrated so perfectly, admirable to all.

Only a civilization rooted in rich soil can create such a broad and profound culture, produce a perfect man like Napoleon Bonaparte,

and create a great nation like the French Republic. The pirate culture born from the violent seas can only lead us to struggle painfully in plunder and slaughter, both against others and ourselves. Humans are not marine creatures; we must stand on solid ground.

Be loyal to the land, just like being loyal to your conscience; embrace the land, just like embracing our mother. Only by standing on solid ground can we truly become complete, powerful people.

I do not oppose America becoming a 'great power,' nor do I think there is a contradiction between 'the rise of a great power' and 'the dignity of the common people.' But the 'rise of a great power' must be based on us leaving the tyrannical primitive sea and stepping onto the generous and benevolent land; otherwise, the 'rise of a great power' can only trample on the 'dignity of the common people.'

Flee the sea and land on earth, America!"

Such an article, of course, sparked even more controversy, especially among the southern slave owners, who were extremely angry. They furiously cursed Greded in their newspapers, declaring that he would surely go to hell.

At first, these people even attempted to debate with Greded in the newspapers. But clearly, those simpleton slave owners, who couldn't even understand basic syllogism, were logically so deficient that they were refuted into silence in the debates, ending up with a mere "what you said is false."

Since criticism couldn't tackle Greded, those spirited southerners naturally thought of the critique of arms. And this was precisely what the Ministry of Truth wanted to see.

The Ministry of Truth had noticed that some southern newspapers even openly called for "heavenly punishment for the national traitor." And some soldiers involved in massacres, highly resentful of Greded's criticisms, like a southern militia in Georgia called "Pure Faith," had already put Greded's portrait and name on their shooting targets.

Their newspapers naturally immediately exposed these actions in the newspapers of Massachusetts. Then the public opinion in Massachusetts was naturally in an uproar, although many in Massachusetts did not agree with Greded's views. But freedom of speech is protected by the Bill of Rights. So the Governor of Massachusetts even had to step forward to call on Georgia to respect freedom of speech.

And Georgia's response was: "Putting that guy's name on a target is also a form of expression, a form of speech, and also freedom of speech."