Yellow orbs of light glittering in the Seine. Buttery croissants dipped in mugs of freshly brewed coffee. Grandiose, Gothic buildings looming over rustic little patisseries, paired alongside one another to create the loveliest of juxtapositions.
Here in the United States, we have a tendency to romanticize Paris, and understandably so. Our perception of the City of Lights comes largely from its depiction in films. Upon hearing the word “Paris,” we’re reminded of Owen Wilson’s romantic endeavors in Midnight in Paris, or of a doe-eyed, ever-so-elegant Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina. Paris is the place where girls become debutantes, where couples fall in love, where dreams come true – call it Disney World for the modern-day American collegiette.
In the ballad La Vie En Rose, Edith Piaf urges us to see the Paris through rose-colored glasses. And we’re happy to comply. However, recent events in Paris’ history have forced us to exchange our rose-colored glasses for a pair of blue, white, and red ones. On November 13th, the blue, white, and red filter stained our Facebook friends’ faces with a grave reminder of the tragedies that took place in Paris. An outpouring of sympathy inundated every social media platform. People were shocked. Some were rendered speechless. This type of thing simply doesn’t happen in Paris. In other cities, perhaps. But not Paris.
The terrorist attacks in Paris serve as a reminder that there is no such thing as a perfect place. It doesn’t matter how untouchable a place may seem on its surface – not a single city on earth is immune to the power of human evil. Tragedy can happen in any place, at any time.
Let us also use this incident as an opportunity to remember that Paris is more than its architecture and aesthetically pleasing cuisine. At the end of the day, places are not places without their people. Paris is its people. The victims of these shootings and bombings are not characters waltzing around in a Woody Allen movie. They’re human beings, just like the rest of us. They’ve been taken advantage of, and they’re hurting because of it. As fellow human beings, it’s our responsibility to make room in our hearts for these people, to do whatever we can to restore some good back into their lives.
Physical and cultural distance can make it difficult to take a direct course of action. However, we don’t have to adopt a nonchalant, c’est la vie type of attitude towards the matter. There are little things we can do here in the United States. Even something as simple as going out of our way to do some more research on the incident reflects our willingness to empathize with the victims, to establish some common ground. It’s time to remove the filter – be it blue, white, red, or rose-colored – and accept Paris for what it truly is: beaten up and bruised, but not incapable of being restored.