Rationalize and Even Idealize

I’m planning on heading to France with the kids this summer.  We picked an apartment there in Paris on the Seine that looks comfortable, quiet.   I had been thinking about going to Israel.  I liked the idea of seeing something yet again more ancient than Rome or Athens with the girls.  I wasn’t deterred by the fact that trouble was a possibility.  But the other three stakeholders in the annual travel Althing had pushed for France:  Lavender, deserts, language. The Dome of the Rock will have to wait. 

It looks like Israel might have been the safer bet.  Paris is of course flooded. The worst flooding in many, many years, with the New York Times offering details of flood and how it relates to all the other floods of the last century.  This time the priceless collection on the first floor of the Louvre has been moved to higher ground.  I had my younger one read the article and we discussed it:  “Should we cancel the trip?”  “Don’t worry about it.  We’ll be OK.” 

Later that evening I shared the link to the apartment we’d be staying at with my old friend.  He sent me a link to a clip of the protests that have apparently gripped the city and the nation.  Gas stations don’t have fuel, and train workers have struck along with the workers in nuclear power plants.  Cities have power outages and roads have been blocked.  Perhaps those train tickets I bought and that the car I was planning to rent may not be such a good idea. 

Perhaps I’m deluded but my base assumption is that this will all be profoundly educational for my kids.  Workers are striking for a reason.  Students are taking to the streets for a reason.  There is a long tradition of erecting barricades in the French capital.  There is a long tradition of many of these things here in Beijing too.  A tradition that has been notably tamped down in this capital for the last twenty-five years.  I don’t want my kids breathing in tear gas or being pelted, but all of these questions around strikes and protest should be powerful catalysts for discussion. 

Easy to rationalize and even idealize now, from the tranquility, of old Beijing, though I wall most assuredly change my tune if I’m stuck on a highway or a in a rail station for ten hours enduring a blow against the tourist industry.