What does the
European Union mean to me? Quite frankly, as a high school
student in New York, the European Union isn’t exactly
something I think about on a daily basis. It doesn’t
play guitar. It doesn’t get the ladies. Virtually
the only interaction I have with the EU is at 2:47 each
weekday when I stumble through the French language for
50 minutes.
Europe, to the American teenager, is a place of stereotypes.
The English, for example, are either extravagantly rich
tea-sipping gentlemen in top hats with acres of land and
hundreds of bloodhounds, or flat cap-wearing children
with outrageous Cockney accents à la Oliver Twist.
The French wear berets, play the accordion, and consume
a diet consisting only of baguettes, smelly cheese, and
vin rouge. And so on and so forth, ad nauseam and ad infinitum.
And it’s not that we believe that these stereotypes
are even remotely true; rather, they provide a convenient
way for us to dismiss the EU. We can say, “Oh yeah,
I know about Europe. Sauerkraut and Amsterdam and Bullfighting.”
But coming from a country that is its own union of individual
states, these stereotypes provide us with a wonderful
role model. In the world today, in which putting aside
differences to live together is an increasingly relevant
issue, the EU provides a refreshing success story for
peaceful coexistence – baguettes living alongside
bloodhounds. From a 17-year-old living in the state of
the Sharks vs. the Jets, this coexistence is nothing to
be taken lightly.
Comedian Dave Barry writes, “They can hold all the
peace talks they want, but there will never be peace in
the Middle East. Billions of years from now, when Earth
is hurtling toward the Sun and there is nothing left alive
on the planet except a few microorganisms, the microorganisms
living in the Middle East will be bitter enemies.”
Humor aside, this quote has more than just a small gem
of truth in it. Today, our world is becoming more and
more polarized, both at home and abroad. It’s never
just politicians anymore, but rather the Republicans,
in the red corner, vs. the Democrats, in the blue corner.
And this boxing match seems to get more and more intense
with time. The “us against them” mindset instilled
in us from the very first “stranger danger”
lecture we received when we were young has grown to ridiculous
heights. Remember a time when athletes would play a game
without punching either an opponent or a vicious spectator?
That time, fortunately, is still alive somewhere. That
time lives in the European Union, today’s salad
bowl success story. Twenty-seven separate cultures, all
living and thriving under the same banner. Hats off to
you, EU. Berets, top hats, flat caps, and all.
