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Somewhere Between Mania & Phobia - Introduction

	Home Mania of the      Month Jacques      Cartier As Far As the      Eye Can See		Most Franco-Americans spend their lives traveling between two locations: Mania, which is slightly west of the Grand Tetons in Montana; and Phobia, which is located south of the Extreme Unction Junction. Regardless of where we were born, how long we went to school, or what we do for work, we always seem to end up back in one of these two spots with the rest of the gang.
			I'm not a sociologist. So I won't try to five you a scientific explanation for the Mania-Phobia phenomenon. But I do now it exists. I see it in the Francos I've known. I recognize it very clearly and painfully in myself.
			I'd like to examine it here because I think the phenomenon helps explain why Francos still have so much trouble getting noticed. For years, we've been the silent minority - "the quiet presence" as Hendrickson called us. Today, we've been silent for so long that we're disappearing without a trace or a sound. And that bothers me for two reasons.
			First, we certainly had the chance to become an important and highly visible ethnic group, if that's really what we wanted. We've been on the North American continent for over 350 years. Ancestors on my father's side arrived in Quebec in 1635, and on my mother's side in 1649. We "own" the continent as much as do other groups who arrived a lot later than we did and did a lot better. But somehow, we blew it, missed our chance, and are now on the verge of vanishing.
			The second reason is precisely these other groups.
			The Italians, Irish, Polish, and especially the Chicanos, are still very much alive. Good for them. They know how to participate in the future of the country. They know how to stand up for their rights. They know how to make themselves heard and get themselves recognized.
			In the meantime, we become more and more invisible. And the saddest part is that no one even notices or cares. Our last moments won't get a write-up in the New York Times or even the Lewiston Sun.
			Anyway, I think it might be interesting to see what has made us so invisible to our fellow Americans. Our constant trips between Mania and Phobia have certainly played a role, so I propose to study certain elements of this phenomenon in the pages that follow. Specifically, I have identified at least thirteen Manias worth exploring:
			Ave Mania Skeletomania Mythomania Polyesteromania Excomunimania Rootsomania Fortifimania Mannomania Lanuestapomania Messianomania Concretomania Mea Culpamania Proposomania
			There are also at least thirteen Phobias we can look at:
			Everything's just finophobia Bibliophobia Chronophobia Xenophobia Xusophobia Politicophobia Talentophobia Gynophobia Automaniaphobia Negatophobia Spotophobia Sentinellophobia Naturophobia
			We may find a few more along the way, but this bunch gives us plenty to start with...and maybe enough to help us understand.
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