THE EUROPEAN UNION… SLOWLY UNRAVELLING…
Those people who love to study history (I am one of them) know that Europe has had dozens of “Unions” of different countries throughout its three thousand year history. These “unions” were always called “Empires.”
It all started with Ancient Greece which had several unions or empires, and then, Rome came along and was the epitome of empires.
The Roman Empire lasted about 500 years and finally fell apart when its leaders and its Italian population became so lazy and corrupt that they no longer wanted to work or fight. Slaves were brought in from their conquered countries to do all the work and fighting men were hired from surrounding tribes to fight and to police the conquered countries and even Rome itself.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
The fall of the Roman Empire took several centuries. We must remember that Rome existed when there was no technology. The fastest means of transport was a horse. Communication was only the human voice.
Today, because of modern technology, the fall of Rome could occur in ten years.
LIST OF EUROPEAN “EMPIRES”
Wikipedia has a fine list of the Empires of Europe. But even this list is incomplete:
- Habsburg Spain, Spanish Empire, Spain
- Kingdom of France, French Empire, France
- Dutch Republic, Dutch Empire, Batavian Republic, Kingdom of Holland, United Kingdom of the Netherlands, Netherlands
- Holy Roman Empire, German Confederation, German Empire, Nazi Germany, Germany
- Habsburg Austria, Austrian Empire, Austria—Hungary, Austria
- Byzantine Empire
- Ottoman Empire, Turkey
- Mongol Empire
- First Bulgarian Empire, Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria
- Grand Duchy of Moscow, Tsardom of Russia, Russian Empire, Soviet Union, Russia
- Kingdom of Lithuania, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Polish—Lithuanian Commonwealth, Lithuania
- Kingdom of Sweden, Swedish Empire, United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, Sweden
- Kingdom of Denmark, Kalmar Union, Denmark-Norway, Denmark
- Kingdom of England, Commonwealth of England, The Protectorate, Kingdom of Great Britain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom
Between all the empires listed above were others that came and went so fast, they are not acknowledged by historians. Thus, if the “Holy” European Union of the 21st Century disappears, it will not come as a shock to students of history.
WHY DO “EMPIRES” FORM?
Humans, like all other animals, are motivated by one primary force: Procreation of the Species. Without this primary motivation there would be no humans.
But, there are secondary motivations: In order to procreate one needs to be alive. This requires food and shelter. Food and shelter translates, in the modern era, as money and power.
This was the same motivation in the past. Since the countries of the world were ruled by families (Aristocracy) and, since the leaders of these families were able to imagine problems that might come about, they felt the need to unite with other families in the hope that their united strength would be sufficient to remain as rulers.
Today, commercial corporations try the same technique, in the form of “Mergers.” These mergers sometimes are lasting, but frequently fail. They fail if their management and employees have differing values.
Mergers of nations have never lasted!
If one scans the list of empires above, one sees empire after empire disintegrating. A Union of countries requires strong values of its citizens that are shared by all its citizens. The values of its leadership are irrelevant in long term.
If we look at Europe, the only country whose union has remained strong is Switzerland. The Swiss people have very strong values in terms of hard work, honest government and the power of the people. No major law can be passed in Switzerland without a referendum by the people of the entire nation.
There is no other country in the world that has such a stringent requirement for the permission of the people for the passage of any law.
The people of Switzerland, speaking three different languages, with three different cultures, have been together since 1291!
Why? Because the Swiss are genetically intelligent and genetically hard working and never swerve from their democratic ideal of leadership by the majority.
Without these three qualifications, no country or union can remain unified.
PROBLEMS CONFRONTING THE EU TODAY
There are three major problems confronting the EU today.
A.Money.
B. Immigration.
C. Government.
MONEY
The EU is a world organization.
It has investors from every country on the globe. All of these investors are large international corporations which saw the EU as an unusually good money machine.
These investors include international financial companies, such as banks; international energy companies, oil cartels, etc.; and international manufacturing companies: GE, Siemens, etc. These companies, five decades ago, decided that forming a common market out of the rich countries of Europe would make them enormous profits.
The EU was formed and then, to cement the union, the Euro was introduced.
It all looked good except that reality intervened.
The inhabitants of Europe are markedly different in terms of culture and genetics. We can see that certain nations have a culture of easy living; whereas, others enjoy hard work and austerity.
Since an easy lifestyle requires more money than the population earns, borrowing became the new method of paying for the easy lifestyle. The “borrowing disease” infected most of the countries of the EU and, also, of the U.S.
Although the international banks and finance companies knew that certain countries were becoming so indebted that there could be no means of repayment, they relied on their control of the strong countries to capture their capital. The governments of the strong countries did what their masters commanded, but the people are now revolting.
There is a high probability that the international banks made a gross error. The weak countries may exit the EU.
IMMIGRATION
The international investors want as many people as possible under their control.
The EU today could easily be called the WORLD UNION.
Not only have the international investors edged up the list of countries that can be called European to include Turkey, but they have encouraged immigration from everywhere. Here, again, the people are revolting.
Here is an article about a politician in The Netherlands:
Populist Geert Wilders acquitted of hate speech
By Gilbert Kreijger and Aaron Gray-Block
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – “Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders was acquitted of inciting hatred of Muslims in a court ruling on Thursday that may strengthen his political influence and exacerbate tensions over immigration policy.
The case was seen by some as a test of free speech in a country which has a long tradition of tolerance and blunt talk, but where opposition to immigration, particularly from Muslim or predominantly Muslim countries, is on the rise.
Instantly recognizable by his mane of dyed blond hair, Wilders, 47, is one of the most outspoken critics of Islam and immigration in the Netherlands. His Freedom Party is now the third-largest in parliament, a measure of support for its anti-immigrant stance, and is the minority government’s chief ally. But many of Wilders’ comments — such as likening Islam to Nazism — are socially divisive.
The presiding judge said Wilders’ remarks were sometimes “hurtful,” “shocking” or “offensive,” but that they were made in the context of a public debate about Muslim integration and multi-culturalism, and therefore not a criminal act.
“I am extremely pleased and happy,” Wilders told reporters after the ruling. “This is not so much a win for myself, but a victory for freedom of speech. Fortunately you can criticize Islam and not be gagged in public debate.”
The ruling could embolden Wilders further. He has already won concessions from the government on cutting immigration and introducing a ban on Muslim face veils and burqas.
“This means that his political views are condoned by law, his political rhetoric has been legalized,” said Andre Krouwel, a political scientist at Amsterdam’s Free University. “This has made him stronger politically. He is needed for a political majority, he is basically vice prime minister without even being in the government.”
Some Dutch citizens have started to question their country’s traditionally generous immigration and aid policies, worried by the deteriorating economic climate, higher unemployment, incidence of ethnic crime and signs that Muslim immigrants have not fully integrated into Dutch society.
Similar concerns have helped far-right parties to gain traction elsewhere in Europe, from France to Scandinavia.
Farid Azarkan of the SMN association of Moroccans in the Netherlands said he feared the acquittal could further split Dutch society and encourage others to repeat Wilders’ comments.
“You see that people feel more and more supported in saying that minorities are good for nothing,” Azarkan said.
“Wilders has said very extreme things about Muslims and Moroccans, so when will it ever stop? Some will feel this as a sort of support for what they feel and as justification.”
Minorities groups said they would now take the case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, arguing the ruling meant the Netherlands had failed to protect ethnic minorities from discrimination.
“The acquittal means that the right of minorities to remain free of hate speech has been breached. We are going to claim our rights at the U.N.,” said Mohamed Rabbae of the National Council for Moroccans.
Wilders, who has received numerous death threats and has to live under 24-hour guard, argued that he was exercising his right to freedom of speech when criticizing Islam.
The Amsterdam court had used a Supreme Court ruling — that an offensive statement about someone’s religion was not a criminal offence — as the basis of its decision, leading to acquittal, the judge said.
Unusually, the prosecution team had also asked for an acquittal, arguing that politicians have the right to comment on problem issues and that Wilders was not trying to foment violence or division.”
GOVERNMENT
The EU government is beginning to lose its power base. Like the USSR, there too many disparate groups to keep the Union harmonious.
Like the fall of Rome seventeen centuries ago, the EU is following the same pattern.
