Ah yes, the EU. When I was young, not long ago, growing up in Britain, I enjoyed being European, mostly because the only limit on how much wine you could bring back from France was the boot capacity of our Vauxhall Nova. Things are a little more complicated now, but here in Brussels the EU is still going strong, and the French wine remains unlimited.
The European Parliament has some excellent museums here, and today we went to "Parliamentarium", all about the political institutions of this continent. Not the most lively subject, you might say, but thanks to all the wonders of modern interactivity it was far more engaging than it had any right to be. We also got a cool free pen with the European flag on it.
My main takeaway was what an absolute miracle having any kind of coordination between nations is. The USA barely holds its 50 states together with a flag and the vague idea of "Americanness", and Europe has no similar rallying cry. The response seems to be a softly-softly approach; everything takes time here, every country has to have their say, with four-to-five years being pretty speedy when it comes to any kind of legislation. Unwieldy and impractical it may be, but it's a far more honest approach to human affairs than the zero-sum, reactionary, two-party politics that the US/UK falls into.
Being a Star Trek fan waiting for the United Federation Of Planets to form in a century or two, I'm an easy sell on these ideals. But modern problems can't be solved by one nation alone (unless it's Wales). The central idea obscured by the red tape and hot air - that people should try to get along - is something that made me surprisingly emotional. Let's invite everyone to join the EU! Better to argue for months over legal small print than...I don't know...roll your tanks into disputed territories. The free pens are a nice perk too.
...and world peace.
