Scott DeWar
Prof. Emeritus-Supernatural Events/Countermeasure
I understand that. And I realize how varied of peoples are in Europe, causing the anti-unification troubles.
The United States of Europe
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Ryujin
Legend
Sorry, to me your previous post implied the opposite. Unless it was sarcasm, which we all know doesn't travel well in text.
You misread it. He said "of the Americas" not "of America".
Ryujin
Legend
You're right. I did.
Scott DeWar
Prof. Emeritus-Supernatural Events/Countermeasure
Thank you Morrus. Yes indeed. That nailed it.
But It does not take much to miss a small detail of one letter. I have been forgiven of much worse gaffs in a post, so It behooves me to readily forgive this small speck of a miss. It has been written "somewhere" (read: religion based statement) Why worry of the speck in my brother's eye when I have a beam in my own.
But It does not take much to miss a small detail of one letter. I have been forgiven of much worse gaffs in a post, so It behooves me to readily forgive this small speck of a miss. It has been written "somewhere" (read: religion based statement) Why worry of the speck in my brother's eye when I have a beam in my own.
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
Yep The Mythology of America with its Frontier Pilgrims, Founding Fathers and War of Independence has created a unified identity of 'Freedom', Self Reliance and Group Heroism (American Democracy) which binds the States into a common nationality. The Civil War, the Freeing of the Slaves, the 'Freeing' of Texas and California and the Civil Rights Movement have all added to the Uniting of the States.
The Mythology of Europe however is much older and is regional in its focus, and despite the fact that the Monarchs are in fact related has emphasized the separate sovereign identity. More Over the traditional divides between Britain and the Continent, Northern and Southern Europe, Western and Eastern, Protestant and Catholic still hold sway and means that though cooperation, common trade and military alliance work as a central tenant of European peace and civilisation, full political unity will not be achieved without a fundamental shift in European culture and European psychology. Short of a new plague or an apocolyptic war I don't see that happening.
Europe wont follow the US model simply because their mythic origins are entirely different
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Unless need drives them to do so.
One can imagine, for example, that, in the near future, the world will need far more unified policies on resource use, under which individual nations simply could not be allowed to forge their own paths.
Mustrum_Ridcully
Hero
So what is the reason for the calls of the referendum? Is it to shup up the minority in the UK that's want the Brexit?
Unless the government really thinks a Brexit is a good way to go, it seems to me they are risking a lot here. If the people call for a Brexit, they'd basicaly have to implement it. Which they don't actualyl want.
If they don't call for it, the government's negotiation position towards the EU seems weakened - as the EU knows the threat of leaving is empty.
But maybe that's okay for the UK?
I mean, the Greece situatin is just as weird now. The government asks for a referendum on whether the austerity politics the EU and others demand are to be followed or not. The people vote against it. And suddenly Greece provides an offer that seems to go considerably beyond their previous ones. I had expected the opposite to happen.
Things seem a bit weird in politics these days, I guess.
Heck, there was just a mail service strike in Germany. Several weeks went by with many post office workers not working. The strike ended with a deal - which was barely compensating the inflation, and the major point of contention - outsourcing to sub-contractors / union rates for sub contractor employees remains unresolved.
The last negotiation between the company I work for and the union got a result that's even a bit better, without any big points of contention. And it required no strikes.
To be honest, you're asking the wrong person. I may happen to live here, but I'm far from an astute political theorist.
The referendum - which is currently slated for October 2016 - is to find out what the public wants. The job of the government is to act on behalf of the people. I assume the current government is fairly confident about it, but there will obviously be a lot of campaigning between now and then just like there was for the Scottish referendum.
nerfherder
Explorer
It was at least partly to neutralise the UKIP vote at the last general election.
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