The French are better Americans

PARIS - France marked the Fourth of July by honoring Thomas Jefferson with a statue and Rosa Parks with a sports complex. The mayors of Paris and Washington did the honors.

"This is a great monument to a great American in a very important place in Paris," Washington Mayor Anthony Williams said as the bronze, 10-foot-tall statue of Jefferson was unveiled on the Left Bank of the Seine River, near the Solferino Bridge.

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe called Jefferson a "universal man ... inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment." He called the third U.S. president "a great man, a great Parisian."

Jefferson lived in Paris as an ambassador during the George Washington presidency.

I find it highly ironic that the French would mark the American independence by honoring two great Americans. In America, we do nothing but spew venom at the French. It is a contrast in cultures.

Still, as ya'll know, I'm a huge Jefferson disciple. Today, the right wing government of the United States would call Jefferson a traitor, and swift boat Rosa Parks, while renaming "french fries"..

Nearly every single day, in nearly every single story, it becomes more an embarrassment to be an American.. And yes.. I'm quite aware of the easy solution. I'd love to move to Toronto, or London, or Madrid, or Paris even.. but it's just not that simple. I can certainly see myself retiring in another country though.