Spain. Europe. The States.

In an article writen after the (USA) Independence Day, Etanisla wonders why USA is still "the last stand for people to be free", despite of politicians worried about stupid things (i.e. the digital divide) when worst topics should call they attention.

Well, Etanisla: to say it with only a few words, the USA might stink, but they are an oasis of civilization in this world.

I have to concede we, the Spanish people, hate the USA. I don't know if it's due to USA people invading Texas and conquering it to Mexico. I don't know if it's due to the Heast campaign that lead to USA aid to independence of Cuba and Philippines, and anexation of Puerto Rico and isle of Guam. I don't know if it's due to the USA help to the Franco dictatorship in Spain, when many spaniards, exiliated in the USA, Puerto Rico and Latin America, wondered why the USA helped a friend of Hitler. I don't know if it's due to the pride of being European, instead of American; the pride of being the guardian of an ancient tradition and a (dead) culture. I don't know if it's due to making nothing for us when our territory was invaded by morocco troops, or if it's due to your desire of making that morocco troops an ally of you... and us! inside the NATO.

But I have to concede that: Spanish people hate the USA.

Today, my father has said a sentence that summarizes the reasons to our hatred to your country: "Los españoles tienen orgullo, pero no huevos". It can be translated as "Spaniards have pride, but no guts". A nice sentence that could be applied to the whole European Union. Europe has some pride, but we have no guts. No guts to rule the world, to stop or start a war whenever we want to do so, to put or take out a dictator in a country.

But how could we have guts, if we are in the edge of the razor?

Most European people have a good social protection, but most European countries are taking down it (this week we heard, for first time in decades in Spain, about paying to social security doctors). European countries have good employment policies, but European companies manufacture outside Europe and contract people outside Europe --even for answering the phone. European customers have more rights, but less options. European people can vote, but their congresists have no real power against a "commision" made of bureaucrats designed to please every country (a different bureaucracy position exists for each country to occupy it).

So, the situation in Europe is not very different of the situation in the USA. A bit more protective state (but that won't last forever), but a complete lack of cohesion.

European people have pride... but do they really want to be European?

We, in Spain, are proud of being Spanish, not european. And that's not all: most of us are not proud about being Spanish, but proud about being from Madrid, Catalonia or the Basque Country. In many regions of Spain, people burns USA flags --but Spain flags also.
So, how could we have some European pride if we don't even like our country?

And, why do us like Europe, if most of us don't know nothing about it?

All I know about Vilnius is it is too far from my home to the east, next to the baltic, and it shares my timezone (yes, there is a 45 degree timezone covering entire Continental Europe -- so we in Spain have the "noon" about 14:00 pm). All I know about Cyprus is Turkey invaded it with a reasonable motif, and that Turk-Cypriot people want to be Cypriot only, but Greco-cypriot (the "european" ones) don't let them join to their country. And so on.

I don't even know the name of the President of the European Union. Not sure it's Durao. All I know it's a former president of Portugal, ¡the adjacent state!

So it's not strange for it to say "Europe won't be a country until the next generation or later". If things remain as they are, Europe won't be a country ever.

We in Europe hate the USA. But, as you should have realized, it's just envy.

And now, read "ship" and go to bed.