VIRTUAL PARIS DAY THREE

The theme of the third day of the Road Scholar virtual trip covered Paris and the Revolutions.   My notes are not good, but I will forge on with this.  It seems like it was a pretty chaotic time.

Our guide Nettah described the circumstances leading to Bastille Day, July 14, 1789.  A major issue was that France was on the verge of bankruptcy, partly due to financial support for America.  The French supported us against Great Britain in the American Revolution.  Another major issue involved the Three Estates--the nobility (First Estate), the clergy (Second Estate) and everyone else (Third Estate).  The Third Estate was 98% of the country., but only 1/3 of the power.   Representatives of the three estates met at the Palace of Versailles.  The King was Louis XVI.  

At Versailles on May 28 1789 the Third Estate began meeting separately, as the Communes.  They declared they were a National Assembly, and would not be under the monarchy's supervision. That caused King Louis XVI to shut down the hall in which they were meeting, so they began meeting in June 1789 at an indoor tennis court at Versailles.  They vowed to work toward a new constitution.  The picture above is a depiction of how it might have looked at the tennis court.  I am not clear of the connection, but the storming of the Bastille took place in July and Louis XVI was forced to recognize the National Assembly.  In August, the Assembly met and voted to abolish aristocratic privileges.  The National Assembly continued to work toward their revolutionary goals and seized church property in November.  

The King and his family attempted to flee to Varennes in June 1791 but they were caught.  He was tried by the National Convention and found guilty of high treason.  He was executed by guillotine on January 21, 1793.  Shortly after that, his wife, Marie Antoinette was also tried and also was guillotined.  Her spending had been one of the things that led the revolutionaries to revolt.

Robespierre was elected President of the Convention and presided over what is known as the Reign of Terror because there were many massacres and executions during that time.  It was portrayed as an attempt of republican government under his leadership, but people turned against him and he was beheaded in 1794.  

I am not sure, but it seems that there was a relatively peaceful time for a few years.  But Napoleon Bonaparte who staged a coup in November 1799.  He became more and more powerful and was crowned as Emperor in 1804.  He led France to become the dominant land power of Europe, while Britain dominated the seas.  He lead an army of 700,000 to invade Russia but had to retreat because of winter weather.  He was defeated in 1814 by a coalition of Russian, Austrian and Prussian forces and exiled to Elba but he took power back about a year later when he escaped and returned to Paris.  The French people welcomed him back and the King, Louis XVIII fled to Belgium.  A European coalition defeated him at Waterloo and he was again exiled; this time, to St Helena where he died.  He may have been poisoned.  

Louis XVIII was restored as King in July 1815

I am not going to post the next two days to this blog.  My notes are not that good, and I think it is enough to say it was worthwhile and fun for Louisa and I to do together.  

PARIS DAY TWO

 

On day two, we covered the Renaissance in Paris and the Age of Reason.  The most interesting thing I learned from this period is how the Mona Lisa ended up in France rather than in Italy.  King Francois I invited Leonardo da Vinci to France in 1516 and Da Vinci brought the Mona Lisa with him perhaps as a gift to the King.  When Da Vinci died in 1519, the painting remained in France, as part of the various kings' art collection (including Napoleon) and was eventually hung in the Louvre in 1804.  It was stolen in 1911 by an Italian living in Paris who returned it to Italy a couple of years later.  Although he claimed it was a patriotic act, he was caught when he tried to sell it.  It was returned to France.

The ideas that defined the Renaissance were proportionality, order, harmony, humanism and classicism.  Da Vinci's work is an example, especially the Vetruvian Man.  

As you can tell, I am a huge fan of DaVinci.  When I was in Paris and able to go into the Louvre in person,  I made a point of seeing the Mona Lisa.  I often say it was one of the most horrible experiences of my life.  Too crowded and it's so small!  Plus, tourists crowd around to take selfies with it even though it is under two pieces of bulletproof glass.  Seeing it virtually is actually better. 

The Enlightenment, or Les Lumieres, was also dominated by order and reason.  It was interesting to learn that the first coffee house, Le Cafe de Procope, was opened in 1686.  Coffee houses were places where men could talk about their ideas.  It is also rumored that the idea for an encyclopedia started at Le Cafe de Procope.  

We also took a virtual "field trip" to the Sorbonne and the College de France on the Left Bank where students could study and it wasn't tied to certificates or degrees or anything like that....just for learning.

PARIS!!!!!

 

Recently (November 16-20) Louisa and I went to Paris.  Well, of course it was virtual....but it was great fun and very Parisian.  We did it through Road Scholar with Nettah Yoeli-Remmer as our guide.  It was very different from actually being there, but we could do things in historical sequence instead of geographical so it made a lot of sense.  We missed stopping for pastries, though...and sketching in the streets of Paris or by the Eiffel Tower.  When we were actually in Paris a few years ago so we revisited some good memories.

We covered a lot and Nettah had a variety of slide decks, videos, handouts (we got by email) and his own rich knowledge.  He made the virtual experience seem very relevant.

Day 1 covered origins of Paris, Ile de la Cite, Sainte-Chappelle and Notre Dame.  The first thing we learned was that the name Paris does not come from the Greek god Paris, but instead from a Gaul tribe, the Parisii who were brought under Roman control in 52 BC.   We saw pictures of a Roman arena (part  of Arenes de Lutece and built in the first century AD), which is still in Paris and can be visited once travel resumes.  I had no idea it was there and that is one of the interesting revelations of this virtual tour.

Christianity came to the city in the 3rd Century and Saint Denis became the first Bishop.  He was eventually decapitated and the picture above is of a statue at the Notre Dame that shows him carrying his own head.  The story is that he continued his sermons carrying his head after the decapitation and that is why he became a Saint.

Germanic tribes sacked Paris in 270 AD and so it became under Frankish rule.  Clovis I became ruler in 481 AD at the age of 16 when his father died.  He united the Frankish tribes throughout the region.  He increased his authority with Rome by marrying a Christian wife and then he himself converted to Catholicism in 496 AD.  He became the first Bishop of Paris. 

We  went to Notre Dame (through a video narrated by Nettah) and saw pictures of it post fire.  A decision has been made to rebuild it as it was at the time of the fire.  Nettah led a great discussion of it as classic Gothic architecture (construction began in AD 1163) and how the flying buttresses stabilize the walls and allow for open spaces in the interior.  

We "toured" another church that is physically nearby--Sainte-Chapelle.  Sainte Chappelle is not a cathedral and was privately built by King Louis IX as a chapel and a place for relics he had acquired, such as the purported crown of thorns worn by Jesus and a fragment of the cross.  By the way, these relics were transferred to Notre Dame a few years ago and were saved from the 2019 fire at Notre Dame.  Louisa and I visited Sainte-Chappelle when we were in Paris a few years ago.  It is amazing with soaring panels of stained glass.  It was built in the 13th century.  This picture doesn't do it justice.  

There was more, but this is pretty long already for a blog post.  This was only day one of five, so I hope to do four more.

Revolutionary Love -fifth Installment

Revolutionary Love Fourth Installment

I am still writing about the second day of the virtual conference.  There were breaks built in for meditation and for dancing. I didn't think too much of the dancing ones, and used them as breaks from the program.  I loved the meditation, though, which was led by Anu Gupta.  He led meditation as a way to develop empathy and compassion for all beings.  One of the things he said as he started the first meditation was that breath has been with us from birth.  I had never thought of it that way.  The guided meditation asked participants to focus on someone for whom you have unconditional love--a beloved.  Imagine smiling at that person and having them smile back at you.  Then greet that person with what I will call a mantra;

• May you be happy and healthy
• May you be safe and protected
• May you be in peace
• May you live with ease

Anu then asked us to reflect on our five-year-old selves in the same way with the same mantra..
The next part was to reflect on those attending and then extending this to all beings.

It was very good for me, and Anu said he teaches it to help break bias.  He pointed out that bias is learned.  The picture above is how I like to imagine myself when meditating.  

Revolutionary Love conference - third installment

Although this is the third installment, I am still writing about the second day and I have decided that I can only deal with highlights.

Edgar Villanueva, who was paired with Barry Segal, talked about the power of money.  Segal is a philanthropist, but wasn't that interesting to me.  His talk was pretty traditional.   Villanueva is an indigenous person working in philanthropy and has written a book called Decolonizing Wealth.   He didn't say how he got involved with philanthropy, so I am not sure.  He did talk about his very modest childhood and how he grew up as the son of a single mother who worked three shifts.  She worked at the Department of Motor Vehicles and then 2 shifts working in people's homes as a nursing assistant.  Villanueva would tagged along and so got to go into fancy homes.  On Saturdays and Sundays, his mother worked on outreach for the church and made sure kids got to church on the bus.  She would say that helping kids was her "medicine.  He also talked about, when indigenous people want to get to know you, they ask "who are your people?"  In other words, who do you associate with...not just who you are.  Another idea he put forth was that money is not the root of all evil, it is the love of money that is the root of all evil.  As we have seen in these coronavirus times, some people do value money more than human life.  He explained why he talks about decolonization.  According to his thinking, when societies conquer civilizations, they take resources and leave.  However, when they colonize, they stay and exploit the society.  He put forth the premise that wealth in America today was built through colonialism.  To him, decolonization means that which has been stolen is returned.  There was a lot and some pretty radical ideas, in my view.  But he definitely gave me something to think about.

Another impressive speaker on day 2 was Rabbi Michael Lerner.  His book (it seems like they all have a book) is actually called Revolutionary Love.    He portrayed Revolutionary Love as love for everyone and acceptance that we are interdependent.  It is a little complicated, but he proposes that the capitalism we have come to accept and that we are told is "efficient, rational and productive" is not.  To him, a culture that is "efficient, radical and productive" would actually be based on love and caring.  For those who think this is a great idea, but unrealistic, he has encouraging words.  Major social changes have resulted from people who were told their ideas were unrealistic but persisted.  He had harsh words for the liberals and progressives who portray themselves as being on a higher level than others..  What we need, he says, is REAL caring for people who seek meaning and purpose in their lives.  He says selfishness is learned and is not human nature.  There was more, but these were the highlights for me.  I guess you can see why I found him an inspiring voice.

Revolutionary Love Conference Installment 2

On the second day of the conference, Rob Hardies, the Senior Minister of  All Souls Church, gave a talk that was about voting rights and some history of why All Souls is so committed to this issue.  A former Associate Minister, James Reeb (pictured above), was killed in Selma Alabama in 1965.  He was demonstrating for voting rights for African Americans.  After eating at an integrated restaurant, he was killed by four white men.  Reeb was one of many who have died or were injured fighting for voting rights and yet, today, many (especially minorities) are still denied the right to vote.  We have work to do so that everyone has a vote.

Another highlight of the day was hearing Linda Sansour whose talk was titled "No Time for Bystanders."  If you don't know who she is, she is credited as the co-founder of the 2017 Women's March the day after Trump's inauguration.  The title of her talk was apt--she presented reasons to act for love-driven justice.   She gave several concrete suggestions of what we can do now:

• Write notes to neighbors, saying I am here for you and what can I do to help?
• Volunteer at a food bank or help in deliveries
•  Insist on quality health care for all that is not connected to employment 
• Insist that essential workers get personal protective equipment and a living wage, including hazard pay
• Support the US postal service because small business depends on it, we need the option to vote by mail and many of us just need it.  One way is to buy stamps and send letters.
• Tell your representative that the next stimulus package needs accountability, must get money to marginalized populations

Some of these will work better for some people than for others, but I welcomed at least hearing them.  Even though I am in DC, I don't have much influence on the national scale.  Our Representative doesn't have a vote--she is called a "Delegate."  She has an office and is on committees, but that is it.

That's enough for this post.  I have more about the second day, but will post it separately.  I just can't possibly cover it all.

Revolutionary Love conference, overview and "Preamble"

I recently "went" to a conference called Revolutionary Love.  It was mostly done by "Zoom," though there were a couple of youtube sessions.  The original plan was to have it in Washington DC at All Souls Church (my church), but it was moved on-line because of social distancing in the time of coronavirus.  Middle Collegiate Church in New York City was the organizing congregation, and Jacqui Lewis, minister at Middle College Church was the conference leader.

I'm not sure how to describe it.  It was a call to action to "form a more perfect union;" one that is more inclusive than the framers of the Constitution envisioned.  After all, the "We, the people" at that time did not include indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans, women, poor people, or those who had no land ownership.  We, the people, at that time were the white landowners.

This was a very intense experience and involved about 25 hours over four days.  It was broken into general sessions, breakout groups, workshops, and some meditation and exercise sessions.  I will share parts of it that were meaningful to me and it will be several blog posts.

The " Preamble" on Thursday night was a discussion including Charles Randolph White; Cornelius Smith, Jr.; and Kenneth B.Morris, Jr.  White is a director who will be presenting a play about Frederick Douglass at the Arena Stage here in Washington DC. when we can go to the theater again.  Smith is an actor (he was in Scandal) who will play Douglass in the play and Morris is a descendant of Douglass and Booker T. Washington.  They talked about Douglass, of course.  I was particularly impressed with a quote from what is called the Fourth of July speech by Douglass and was actually delivered on the Fifth of July, "It is not light that we need, but fire."  I've always been inspired by Frederick Douglass and this stoked that inspiration.  Smith also did that quote as a song.

There was also a powerful presentation by Kaitlin Curtice, a Potawatomi Native American and a Christian.   The evening closed with Tituss Burgess (of The Unsinkable Kimmy Schmidt) singing "Count Your Blessings" and discussing the topic of "Revolutionary Love" with Jacqui Lewis.   They also sang a few songs together, including "I Need You to Survive" which resonates with me right now.