It is not common to encounter an old gallows or a landmark, i.e. remains that have become, over the centuries, the last witnesses of a system that the Declaration of Human Rights had swept over 200 years ago. Elsewhere, it is the landscape as a whole that reflects a forgotten activity.
Stopping there, taking pictures of them is like taking ownership of them. But more can be done by explaining to younger generations why these elements of heritage are important.
These little survivors of history materialize in the eyes of children a part of what they learn in class :
- The past importance of a textile plant or the search for a metal ore.
- Some monuments also show that not all French people were equal before the law. This inequality was the very foundation of the former regime and its disappearance was the main victory of the Revolution. Despite the political upheavals of the nineteenth century, the Declaration of Human Rights has never been repealed and is today the foundation of our country's values.
And to better understand the news, it may be useful to check whether these egalitarian principles are respected today, for example between men and women, and if they are shared worldwide.
Yannick Loukianoff