petitmal: Perhaps I jumped to conclusions. I apologize.
Some houses need tearing down before rebuilding, that's true; it can be best. But the comparison does not fit: the Union is not a house. If you tear down the E.U. and rebuild it I wonder which occupants it will attract, if any, when the rebuilding is done. (I think it is more like a marriage. Once they are tore down they don't usually get rebuilded. If you want to save them you try to better them from the inside).
Now, when the *European House* stays empty afterwards, some might argue there's no need for this house, this ideal no more. I believe differently. I think history will repeat itself and Europe runs the risk of descending in bickering and argument - again. In my view one thing this failing Europe DID achieve is that our generation lives in the longest interbellum in Europe's history. One success that is put aside all to easily. Seems to me we have forgotten each generation before us experienced a European war at least once in a lifetime. Farage; Wilders; Le Pen; Grillo; these people do not hold the answers; their nostalgia longs for something that never was.
I like to address something you said about fear: it is a feeling; an emotion, One that has been used by both sides in the Brexit campaign, and one that in a way, sticks up its ugly head in this discussion too. It is time for us to understand that in these matters it is best to use our heads. The people in the U.K. who grudged against the Union will in a few years grudge against their own government - as they did before. Because that is what they do. They grudge. They feel. Thinking, as a fact of the matter, is deemed highly suspect.
We may ask ourselves: do we generally take our best decissions when we use emotion or when we use intellect, or a mix of both gently put together?
I apologize for being headstrong as well. I was too eager to reach a conclusion, somehow my emotions took the best of me . ;)
Thank you for you r reply... which I do not consider to be futile.
Dalthnock: Those are very good points, actually.
When you say " when the *European House* stays empty afterwards, some might argue there's no need for this house, this ideal no more", I too believe differently. Like you, I believe we need a united Europe, just not the way it is now. Its current state is self-serving only to a few select few, like Junker & his cronies.
You are absolutely right this is probably the longest period without war that Europe has gone through. For that, the EU with all its iterations that kept changing throughout the years was very well worth it. But this peace period is about to end, unless a lot of pressure is released.
I believe the UK leaving the EU will release enough pressure for everyone to keep its cool for a bit longer. Obviously we are entering now the "what if" field of discussion, but look at what's happening with a critical eye.
There are reports of attacks and/or discrimination against my people in the UK. This is unprecedented. We have always had good relations with England & the UK, many of them always spend their vacations here, and there's always been Portuguese people in the UK, always welcome.
This whole migration madness has raised animosities to such an extent that Portuguese people are being harassed right now. You can clearly see this is not a problem of race or colour, like many would have you believe. There's been too much pressure for multiculturalism, way too fast & this is reaching the breaking point, regardless of what the idealists said.
I was expecting this backlash, but not this fast, or this strong. I do not want this to happen. I do not want to see the extreme right taking hold of Europe as it is now.
Everyone really needs to back down from their positions & have a good look at the state of the whole world right now. Multiculturalism can't be forced, there cannot be two or more sets of laws for different people & we cannot favour one over the other, which is what's happening right now.
The plans failed. All of them. Back down, make other plans. Rebuild Europe. Plan for better migration. Yes, it will take years, decades. But it's the only way. We can't keep digging this hole!
Sorry for veering off in this tangent, but this is one reason I wanted to see UK flipping the bird to the EU. To weaken all these mad policies, to release some pressure. I believe all these things are interconnected. The longer this went on - and goes on, it's still going - the worse the backlash will be.
Reality cannot be contained.
Becoming even more divisive over the UK's exit is destructive. The right path, the constructive path, is for us all to accept it happened, have a good look at everything else that is happening & change the way things are being done. Because this is obviously not working. At all.
Seems to me we have more in common than I expected at first sight.
The pressure, the problems arising from the concept of *multiculturalism*. You have a point when you say some of the pressure now temporarily may have been relieved. So there is time to stand down and put things in perspective.
The concept of multiculturalism is intrinsically flawed. Cultures in a sense are walls, dividing us. The concept of multiculturalism completely ignores that fact. So, unless we can invent new parameters...
It strikes me we both feel discontent at what is going on in the U.K. right now: the animosity fuelling the outcome of the poll, now lashes out for real and foreigners do not feel safe anymore. It is very disturbing.
Last but not least: I concur: *We need to have a good look at everything else that is happening & change the way things are being done*.
Semper veritas...