European Holiday

A short time ago I read an article that compared the current struggles of the European Union with 18th century United States before the Constitution was adopted. I was struck by the similarities, but the differences are more telling for me. If we put Europe under the Community of Excellence microscope these differences stand out.

The first component of a Community of Excellence is Security - we are all in this together. 18th century Americans forged a strong bond on July 4th, 1776 and then steeled it by fighting and winning a war together. In Europe the commercial togetherness is missing the spiritual depth that the American colonies had. (i.e. Franklin's "We must hang together for we will most certainly hang separately." vs. Litaer's "Greed and competition are not the result of immutable human temperament.")

Next comes Courage - Do the right thing - and then Justice - Everyone gets what they earn. It is here that we have to congratulate the EU. The past few years have been struggle after struggle to keep certain member nations afloat. But the EU has stuck by Ireland, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, et al. They have held safety nets underneath as they insisted on some harsh fiscal policy to right each member's course. Economies run in cycles, so who knows how long it will be before these problem nations will be holding the net for Germany and France?

Tolerance is the next component and, as always, it is the trickiest. Throughout U.S. history there have been disgraceful episodes of persecution on minorities, especially the intended annihilation of all Native Americans. But throughout that history each minority could rely on our mantra of "liberty and justice for all" to be able to grow into a more influential element in American Society. We were never perfect and certainly are not finished but that mantra permeates throughout American society.

Tolerance has allowed England and France to put aside about 800 years of conflict to become the allies they are today. This same process is repeating itself on countless occasions to overcome centuries of warfare for European nations to join together for their common good. I think you have to agree that this is a steeper hill to climb than the one across the Atlantic.

I recommend some common holidays. Nothing brings people together as the fifth component, Celebration. In America every state recognizes Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, etc as common holidays. Americans, whether they trace their ancestry to the Mayflower or Ellis Island, come together on these days for food, drink, music, and fun. We not only share our togetherness, we celebrate it as one nation.

Since I'm not European, I can't rightly suggest an event that all could rally behind but I hope and pray that you find it.