Luke S.
Yelp
On our fifth day in Paris we took a leisurely stroll down the Champs Elysées, passing by the home of François Hollande, the Elysée Palace, aka the French "white house." After taking several photographs of his home by standing on a short pillar and peering over the gate, with nary a sideways glance from the Gendarmerie, we walked down the street to see the U.S. Embassy, the representation of the pinnacle of freedom, sitting on sovereign land.
Raising our cameras to take photos of the American flag, we were startled by banging on hard plastic and yelling. Briefly dazed, I glanced over at the clear plastic draped security tent staffed by two security officers who appeared to be reacting to some imminent threat, shouting and banging wildly. It was then I realized they were yelling at us to stop taking photos of the embassy of the purported beacon of liberty.
This overtly hostile reaction not only served no conceivable purpose, it is no wonder that the the United State's world image has grown so damaged. We have become a nation that has forsaken its founding principles in lieu of fear and paranoia. It is disgraceful to think of the men and women who died protecting a way of life no longer held sacrosanct by those in power, sacrificed to the whims of little men in government seeking power and offering nothing but the illusion of safety.
My worst experience in France thus far at my own embassy. How sad.