Word: national
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...retirement of that exceptional man has forced Frenchmen to examine their problems-economic, social and cultural-in a new and often unflattering light. They have found that De Gaulle's visions, however enchantingly phrased, obscured some serious shortcomings. As a result, the nation feels suddenly, and uncomfortably, second-rate. "Mediocrity," says a young Gaullist deputy, "can be enriching, even enjoyable, but mediocre nevertheless...
...strikes, the bitter debates and the political battles that gripped France last week could not alone explain the nation's unusually somber mood. When Georges Pompidou succeeded Charles de Gaulle three months ago, his countrymen were ready for a good long vacation. Except for the jolt of the franc's devaluation, they got it. But as the schools reopened, as the Chamber of Deputies resumed business in earnest, as "the season" in Paris began, 50 million Frenchmen were suddenly confronted with the sad fact that, from now on, their country is likely to play in the world...
Another Western nation forced to ac cept a reduced vision of its importance is Britain, which managed to make the best of it by agreeing with Malcolm Muggeridge that second-rate powers had "great fun." Britain's new devotion to fun produced Europe's most vigorous theater, practically a new age in popular music and a pop scene that has been emulated the world over. By contrast, the French seem hesitant, even fearful about tapping those resources of the imagination and intellect that once struck the rest of the world as being virtually inexhaustible. They have discovered...
...such deep self-doubt. Now both appear to be returning more distressingly than ever. No one believes that France, the revolutionary birthplace of modern democracy, has lost all pride and will sink into smug complacency because De Gaulle has gone. Frenchmen have realized, however, that their rating as a nation depends less on one man's words or actions than on their combined deeds...
...wake of student unrest, a key issue on U.S. campuses this fall is how the universities can achieve more effective democratic "governance." Last week two of the nation's leading universities announced plans for reform...