Different River

”You can never step in the same river twice.” –Heraclitus

Romy of Incidents and Allegations (and a regular commenter here) has some insightful thoughts and reflections on the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington (almost) four years ago, and on London last week — and on the reactions of Europeans.

(Omitted background information: She is an American who was living in France four years ago.)

CLARIFICATION (7/13/05):

Romy clarifies in this post that the above characterisation is perhaps misleading. Note that “reactions of Europeans” means “reactions of a few individuals in the author’s social circle in Lyon, France.” It does not mean “reactions of all Europeans.” Lyon, France is in Europe, so my original statement is true on its face, but generalize at your own risk.

Having said that, I think it is useful to note that most of us live in only one country, and when we hear views from other countries we usually hear only the views coming from those countries’ governments or media elites. Having a sampling — even a small, restricted sampling — of views of so-called “ordinary” people can provide a valuable perspective on what the rest of the world is thinking. I would not want someone in Lyon to think that the New York Times speaks for me, and I imagine the 48% of American voters who voted for John Kerry would not want someone in Lyon to think that George W. Bush speaks for them. Likewise, I imagine that most people in Lyon would not want me to think that Le Monde and/or President Chirac speaks for them. Of course the people in one church choir in Lyon don’t speak for all Europeans either, but if we combine view of “ordinary” people, when we can find them, with what we hear through the media, we will have a better picture of European opinion (if such a thing exists) than if we use the media alone.

In addition, a person from one country living in another often has a different, and broader, perspective than a person who only lives in one or the other. Which is why I linked to Romy’s post. As an American who lived in France for several years, she has a perspective most Americans and most French do not have.