Europe?
The United Kingdom voted yesterday to leave the European Union.
Holy cow.
My world, Europe, is convulsing and twitching into a new shape. I had accepted it would continue as I had gotten to know it at least until I was no longer here, but now it's morphing into a new shape within my lifetime. Again.
Nothing is forever, not even countries and their borders. When I was a child, the Berlin Wall, East and West, Nato and Warsaw Pact, seemed ordained to last forever. I remember as a child waiting for a much lauded vacation in Spain with my parents, reading the airplane tickets bought months in advance. Back then, a ticket was the original copy stapled to as many carbon copies as stopovers were necessary, with one final carbon to be kept for your records. On the back was the fine print, and I would read it, including what the airline included in its liability if a part of the trip were to take the passenger to one of the Warsaw Pact countries. I remember looking it up in one of the old history books I had, and reading about the Iron Curtain, and Churchill's first coining of the term. I read and reread about the end of the Second World War and its consequences, and it seemed to me it would now be forever.
The European Union at that time was a simple Common Market between certain countries. It was trade agreements much like agreements the U.S. had with Canada or Mexico. The important thing back then was East versus West. But Leonid Brezhnev's death in 1982, quickly followed by two old, ailing leaders, Andropov and Chernenko, signified the end of the established order. The appearance of Mikhail Gorbachev, a Soviet leader who seemed human (!), changed everything. Suddenly, we were learning new Russian words, perestroika and glasnost. Then, the unthinkable happened. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics disappeared and Russia reappeared after more than seventy years. The Iron Curtain melted. East and West merged.
Then came the European Union. Free trade between member countries. Free movement, as well, with no need for passports at border crossings. Indeed, border crossings were merely symbolic. A large sign by the side of the road told you you were entering a different country. The road remained the same, with only slight changes in the signs. If things were bad in one country, a person could go to another to find work without asking for visas or waiting for someone to sponsor them. It wasn't all roses, though. With membership also came subservience to different laws, the same for all. Sometimes those laws came into conflict with laws already in force, which had to be changed. Money came from the European Union for projects intended to make local facilities better. With the money came obligations. Each country also had to pay into the general kitty. Each country also lost an amount of sovereignty, economic mostly. And that's what has not helped certain countries in this last recession, such as Spain and Greece.
With the common currency came obligations on debt that not all can comply with, and even less in lean times. The measures each country can take to stimulate its economy are few. When Spain faced a recession in the 1980's, one of the measures it took was to devalue the peseta. It helped to attract foreign investment and helped the economy to pick up. Within the Union, such a decision must be taken by all, and, unless the country is one that helps make the decisions or is the largest economic motor of the region, it's not likely to happen. Lack of sovereignty in that and other matters is one of the things that led to yesterday's Brexit.
So, just when it seemed the European Union was here to stay, with new members being added every few years until it eventually encompassed most of the old continent, now it's coming apart. A French party and one from the Netherlands have already announced their intention of pushing for such a referendum in their countries. Scotland is talking of having another referendum for independence, and Sinn Fein is talking about finally unifying Ireland. What seemed solid a week ago, albeit with its faults, is now imploding upon itself like a sandcastle with the tide washing over it.
The problem is that those who wish to pull the Union apart are the parties of the far-right, who are only looking to further their own national interests against all others. The shadows of Fascism are beginning to lengthen in a Europe that has forgotten all that brings with it. These people are looking back and seeing only full employment and national glory, while obviating the terror and horror of finding scapegoats upon whom to blame a country's ills.
So, the Europe that I thought was here to stay is unravelling. Yes, it has problems. Some of them are inherent to supranational entities and difficult to fix. The common currency was a mistake at the time it was implemented and under the conditions countries had to meet. No thought of the impending recession crossed the minds of those in charge, which only worsened it for some countries and dragged others down, as well. But it could have been fixed. It didn't have to be torn apart.
Perhaps this is simply a call to repair the ills. Perhaps with the Brexit solutions will be found to the problems, and the remaining members create a stronger Union, even with one of its important partners missing. Perhaps. For the sake of our children's future, hopefully.
Holy cow.
My world, Europe, is convulsing and twitching into a new shape. I had accepted it would continue as I had gotten to know it at least until I was no longer here, but now it's morphing into a new shape within my lifetime. Again.
Nothing is forever, not even countries and their borders. When I was a child, the Berlin Wall, East and West, Nato and Warsaw Pact, seemed ordained to last forever. I remember as a child waiting for a much lauded vacation in Spain with my parents, reading the airplane tickets bought months in advance. Back then, a ticket was the original copy stapled to as many carbon copies as stopovers were necessary, with one final carbon to be kept for your records. On the back was the fine print, and I would read it, including what the airline included in its liability if a part of the trip were to take the passenger to one of the Warsaw Pact countries. I remember looking it up in one of the old history books I had, and reading about the Iron Curtain, and Churchill's first coining of the term. I read and reread about the end of the Second World War and its consequences, and it seemed to me it would now be forever.
The European Union at that time was a simple Common Market between certain countries. It was trade agreements much like agreements the U.S. had with Canada or Mexico. The important thing back then was East versus West. But Leonid Brezhnev's death in 1982, quickly followed by two old, ailing leaders, Andropov and Chernenko, signified the end of the established order. The appearance of Mikhail Gorbachev, a Soviet leader who seemed human (!), changed everything. Suddenly, we were learning new Russian words, perestroika and glasnost. Then, the unthinkable happened. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics disappeared and Russia reappeared after more than seventy years. The Iron Curtain melted. East and West merged.
Then came the European Union. Free trade between member countries. Free movement, as well, with no need for passports at border crossings. Indeed, border crossings were merely symbolic. A large sign by the side of the road told you you were entering a different country. The road remained the same, with only slight changes in the signs. If things were bad in one country, a person could go to another to find work without asking for visas or waiting for someone to sponsor them. It wasn't all roses, though. With membership also came subservience to different laws, the same for all. Sometimes those laws came into conflict with laws already in force, which had to be changed. Money came from the European Union for projects intended to make local facilities better. With the money came obligations. Each country also had to pay into the general kitty. Each country also lost an amount of sovereignty, economic mostly. And that's what has not helped certain countries in this last recession, such as Spain and Greece.
With the common currency came obligations on debt that not all can comply with, and even less in lean times. The measures each country can take to stimulate its economy are few. When Spain faced a recession in the 1980's, one of the measures it took was to devalue the peseta. It helped to attract foreign investment and helped the economy to pick up. Within the Union, such a decision must be taken by all, and, unless the country is one that helps make the decisions or is the largest economic motor of the region, it's not likely to happen. Lack of sovereignty in that and other matters is one of the things that led to yesterday's Brexit.
So, just when it seemed the European Union was here to stay, with new members being added every few years until it eventually encompassed most of the old continent, now it's coming apart. A French party and one from the Netherlands have already announced their intention of pushing for such a referendum in their countries. Scotland is talking of having another referendum for independence, and Sinn Fein is talking about finally unifying Ireland. What seemed solid a week ago, albeit with its faults, is now imploding upon itself like a sandcastle with the tide washing over it.
The problem is that those who wish to pull the Union apart are the parties of the far-right, who are only looking to further their own national interests against all others. The shadows of Fascism are beginning to lengthen in a Europe that has forgotten all that brings with it. These people are looking back and seeing only full employment and national glory, while obviating the terror and horror of finding scapegoats upon whom to blame a country's ills.
So, the Europe that I thought was here to stay is unravelling. Yes, it has problems. Some of them are inherent to supranational entities and difficult to fix. The common currency was a mistake at the time it was implemented and under the conditions countries had to meet. No thought of the impending recession crossed the minds of those in charge, which only worsened it for some countries and dragged others down, as well. But it could have been fixed. It didn't have to be torn apart.
Perhaps this is simply a call to repair the ills. Perhaps with the Brexit solutions will be found to the problems, and the remaining members create a stronger Union, even with one of its important partners missing. Perhaps. For the sake of our children's future, hopefully.
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