Lots of amusing email from my LA Times piece on the French. (Registration is required). Here’s one from a Belgian woman. Cut her some slack on the spelling etc, she is writing in a second language:

Ave lectores ,
Mens agitat molem : the spirit stir up the people.
I hope you have the courage to read and answer this small e-mail, but I doubt.
Two points of reflection about your country:
1. the difference between Europe and the usa? we have thousands of years of reflection and education
2.democracy: we don’t muzzle our press
Before comparing your country with “old” europe, good advice: come over,travell around and try to understand the enlightenment of our way of thinking, living and acting. We are not used to follow our leaders like sheeps! We are not used to trust in God. We trust in ourselves!
A country that exists only a few hundred years, that is used to sip coke, eat hamburgers and chew gum, must learn for once in their lives that there are other human behaviours , ways of thinking and ways of acting than playing cowboy and indians, playing war!
Did you forget already the dammage you brought to Vietnam, that your country already “dilivered” two nuclear bombs on Japan and support a country (Israel) that is able to construct nuclear arms too?? I don’t think so because the biggest part of the americans have a one way thinking:” We are the biggest, we are the greatest and we are going to rule the world…”
My , my , my what an arrogance.
Money makes the world go round is your philosophy, not ours and I am proud and glad to be a european and not a narrow minded american.
Did you forget the thousands of deads and tortureds in Chili, a political situation caused by your cia? Of course you forgot.
You see that there are reasons enough for us to create an anti- american feeling.
Greetz
[NAME WITHHELD]
Belgium ( the land of the tremendous chocolats)
PS do you know the difference between French? Belgian or Dutch cheese already?? I don’t think so