Putting aside the stupidity of the "Freedom fries" and anti-French hysteria from the pre-war days (hey, they were right!) I find this article hard to believe. I believe La Fayette (also known sometimes as Lafayette, one word) is the most often used name for towns, cities and counties in America after Washington. The man was a true hero and provided leadership and connections to France, both of which were critical to the success of the America War of Independence. Without the deep pockets of France and the military assistance from the likes of La Fayette and Admiral de Grasse (see victory at Yorktown) who knows if the US would have won.
In the US there's an often discussed idea that if people are upset with the government, they will turn and somehow manage to succeed. The facts are quite different. A burning desire for change and improvement are but a few of the necessary factors. Look at Iraq, for example. Plenty of foreign assistance, but a lack of leadership and desire for a better system has everyone stuck in an ugly cycle of violence for the sake of violence.
Back to La Fayette and his proper place in America. If this is in fact true, that Americans don't know who he was or what he did, this explains our pre-war arrogance and ignorance. This also raises the issue of why Americans are so often disliked around the world. Here today, gone tomorrow and what have you done for me lately? Like it or not, America has a shoddy reputation for forgetting about our friends, with La Fayette being but one example. This attitude certainly does nothing to help us realize that yes, we have relied on friends around the world, even in the toughest times. By forgetting about people such as La Fayette, it only feeds into the arrogance that the US alone is the best and the greatest. Indeed, it's not just the French who have a reputation around the world for being arrogant. This perhaps also explains the friction between our two great nations over time.
Remembering our friends and being respectful of our traditional allies doesn't make America any weaker or less important. As we move forward with a re-emerging Russia and the fast-moving China it's going to be even more important that we go back and work on our global relationships. We tried "going it alone" and look at where it got us. Whoever our next president will be, they are going to need to build bridges and lots of them. Let's not forget about the La Fayettes of the world.
