Next time you hear a French intellectual and you feel yourself nodding off, just realize that he/she may actually be boring you for your own good.
The French have never even referred to terrorism in such terms. Which means that they would probably consider Al Qaeda a more serious threat if they pledged to play loud music all night. So who is to blame for this problem?French intellectuals have taken up a new cause, which they describe as a defining issue for modern society: calling for more sleep. Philosophers, authors and scientists have joined forces to campaign for the right to nod off, arguing that tiredness is one of the greatest threats to the developed world, particularly France.
But of course. Like we didn’t see that coming. And don’t think that sleep is just a pleasurable thing; it can also serve a great purpose.The intellectuals blame the problem on the spread of an Anglo-Saxon work-hard, play-hard culture, which leaves people too stressed to sleep, even when they try.
With thinking like this, no wonder France is the world power that it is today. Update: Perhaps the English (of all people) can help the French.Some of the more radical French thinkers describe sleep as a revolutionary activity that should be used as a weapon against the evils of capitalism. Instead of striking, workers should take a nap, they say. “It’s very subversive behaviour when speed, efficiency and profitability are held up as shining values,” said Catherine Laroze, the author of The Art of Doing Nothing.
