Feeling queasy about Europe
by prudence on 18-Oct-2010
I was born a European. The first few decades of my life were profoundly marked by Europe, as I travelled in it, learnt some of its languages, read its literature, breathed in its art and history, and explored its food. My first experiences of Berlin, Venice, Paris, and so on are right up there with my best experiences ever.
But I left Europe in 1997. Since then, I've looked on from afar, puzzled sometimes, anxious often.
There's lots we still enjoy from Europe. From England, there's Wallace and Gromit and Stilton. From France, there are movies and croissants (and we get excellent specimens of both in Melbourne). From Denmark, there's amazingly good television (how did the Danes get to be so good at crime dramas?). From Italy, there's everything you could possibly want, courtesy of Melbourne's enormous Italian community. And so on... (I'm not damning with faint praise here. It's just that these lowbrow cultural icons figure more in my life at the moment than Beethoven or Zola. This is another Bad Thing about a PhD.)
While enjoying all this, however, I also shudder at what I see coming out of Europe.
They've always been a bit irritating to ASEAN observers on account of their "integration snobbery", as Murray puts it. They've always been a bit irritating to a lot of people by assuming that "postmodern" Europe is the way of the future for all of us, and by hanging on to their wretched farming subsidies.
But there's also always been a lot to admire. It was good that France and Germany held out over Iraq. It was good to see a community arising where my Dad's generation had still been fighting. It was good to see a bigger community arising where my generation -- I myself -- had experienced the reality of a very literally divided continent.
Lately, however, there's been a lot that's been very worrying.
They've had a bad financial crisis, and economic misery never helps anyone. It's pretty sad to see the guts being ripped out of various British institutions because suddenly strangulation has replaced stimulation as the name of the economic game. But surely it's not unreasonable to expect the French to work past the age of 60?
Surely it's not fair to prevent Islamic women wearing a burqa if they so desire? (And if they don't so desire, surely legislation is hardly the way to fix the underlying problem?) With so much else that is of social concern, surely these moves have more to do with Islamophobia than with a real regard for women's freedom?
On migration generally, the picture is bleak. It's pretty terrifying to see the far right gaining seats in Sweden's parliament. It's depressing to be told that "multikulti" -- attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany -- have "utterly failed". If rich Germany -- with all its history -- can't do it, who can? And what's the alternative? Migration is a world issue. But with Europe so clearly illustrating the problems, how do we make progress on the solutions?
And surely it's unreasonable for European countries to retain so many places on the UN Security Council and in the G20? Demographically, economically, and politically, this makes no sense.
Now, I know I'm a long way away, and news gets distorted as it travels. Scary bits get amplified. Good bits get drowned out. Nevertheless, I'll be glad to see some good news coming out of Europe to go with the fantastic cultural products that they still enrich us with.
But I left Europe in 1997. Since then, I've looked on from afar, puzzled sometimes, anxious often.
There's lots we still enjoy from Europe. From England, there's Wallace and Gromit and Stilton. From France, there are movies and croissants (and we get excellent specimens of both in Melbourne). From Denmark, there's amazingly good television (how did the Danes get to be so good at crime dramas?). From Italy, there's everything you could possibly want, courtesy of Melbourne's enormous Italian community. And so on... (I'm not damning with faint praise here. It's just that these lowbrow cultural icons figure more in my life at the moment than Beethoven or Zola. This is another Bad Thing about a PhD.)
While enjoying all this, however, I also shudder at what I see coming out of Europe.
They've always been a bit irritating to ASEAN observers on account of their "integration snobbery", as Murray puts it. They've always been a bit irritating to a lot of people by assuming that "postmodern" Europe is the way of the future for all of us, and by hanging on to their wretched farming subsidies.
But there's also always been a lot to admire. It was good that France and Germany held out over Iraq. It was good to see a community arising where my Dad's generation had still been fighting. It was good to see a bigger community arising where my generation -- I myself -- had experienced the reality of a very literally divided continent.
Lately, however, there's been a lot that's been very worrying.
They've had a bad financial crisis, and economic misery never helps anyone. It's pretty sad to see the guts being ripped out of various British institutions because suddenly strangulation has replaced stimulation as the name of the economic game. But surely it's not unreasonable to expect the French to work past the age of 60?
Surely it's not fair to prevent Islamic women wearing a burqa if they so desire? (And if they don't so desire, surely legislation is hardly the way to fix the underlying problem?) With so much else that is of social concern, surely these moves have more to do with Islamophobia than with a real regard for women's freedom?
On migration generally, the picture is bleak. It's pretty terrifying to see the far right gaining seats in Sweden's parliament. It's depressing to be told that "multikulti" -- attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany -- have "utterly failed". If rich Germany -- with all its history -- can't do it, who can? And what's the alternative? Migration is a world issue. But with Europe so clearly illustrating the problems, how do we make progress on the solutions?
And surely it's unreasonable for European countries to retain so many places on the UN Security Council and in the G20? Demographically, economically, and politically, this makes no sense.
Now, I know I'm a long way away, and news gets distorted as it travels. Scary bits get amplified. Good bits get drowned out. Nevertheless, I'll be glad to see some good news coming out of Europe to go with the fantastic cultural products that they still enrich us with.