Taking a New Perspective on 09-09-09

Is it math magic? Pythagoras, the Greek mathematician and father of the famous theorem, was obsessed with numbers both mathematically and divine, and noted that nine in particular had many unique properties. For instance, the sum of the two-digits resulting from nine multiplied by any other single-digit number will equal nine. So 9X3=27, and 2+7=9. Multiply nine by any two, three or four-digit number and the sums of those will also break down to nine. For example: 9X62=558; 5+5+8=18; 1+8=9.

According to “gematria,” the Hebrew numerological art of finding meaning by spinning numbers and words, 18 is lucky, because the letters in “chai” (life) are composed of letters that add up to 18. In case you didn’t notice 18 is 9+9 and 1+8=9.

Scary.

The Chinese say that on September 9, you can go very, very high: this is a day that people go up climbing mountains. For students, going back to school by September 9th means that their score will be very high, and whatever they achieve will be much higher. Good thing for New York children — it’s the first day of school there.

And what does this have to do with Paris? Nothing, except that today I woke up with very different things in mind to write about until I saw the date. It changed everything, like a shift in a perspective that makes a big difference in attitude.

Yesterday at “Parler Paris Après Midi” old friend and colleague Terry Easton was talking about his upcoming speaking engagement at the “Paris Freedom Fest 2009.” This is the first time this conference has been held in Paris, starting tomorrow (running through September 13th) jointly sponsored by Libertarian International, Liberté Chérie, ISIL and The Manifesto Club. Their publicity states:

“Crises and crunches have changed the public perception of the freedom movement. Now is the time to reflect, to redefine the issues and to restore confidence. Together with some leading lights of political philosophy, we will be introducing a new generation of activists and intellectual fighters — young, exciting, never-heard-before students and scholars. They explore radical ideas, they don’t shy from controversy, and they will change the conversation about freedom forever.”This sparked another conversation about our concepts of freedom itself and how different the perspective is in France from the U.S. Like changing topic directions when first sitting down to write this Nouvellettre®, living in France is sure to change your perspective on freedom, socialism, capitalism and all the basic concepts necessary to govern and manage ourselves to have free and prosperous lives.

This is a very politically “leftist” society where what we think of as “left” in the U.S. is more akin to the French “right.” Americans living in France struggle with the balance of the capitalist and socialist ideas. While certain “freedoms” we’ve always known as a very entrepreneurial society enjoying “free enterprise” aren’t as “free” as we’d like them to be in France, we certainly enjoy the social programs that afford us the best health care in the world, a top-of-the-line infrastructure, high quality education, a rich culture and a beautiful environment…all thanks to relatively high taxes and a socialized democratic government.

No one complains about these kinds of benefits…as “wealth” is seen from a different perspective. We feel very rich, if not bursting our bank accounts. Everyone in France, rich or poor, has a basic level of all of these rights and benefits, thanks to a more socialized point of view. And have we lost any freedoms as a result. “Au contraire!” We feel freer than ever.

If we believe the Chinese, then today is day from which we can all gain new heights on our outlook on life, and if you believe the Hebraic point of view, it’s a day to be lucky and cherish our lives. Anyway you look at it, September 9, 2009 is one very special day and I’m glad to be celebrating it here in the capital of “Freedom Fries.”

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

P.P.S. September 26th is our official Rentrée Breakfast Party at Parler Parlor!…so be there to take part in French-English conversation, have breakfast of croissants and pains au chocolat…all while taking advantage of a special discount that day! Scroll down to learn more or visit http://www.parlerparlor.com

P.P.P.S. Monday I’ll be writing from Nice, where I will be exploring the world of Côte d’Azur property over a long weekend. Stay tuned.