Whither Europe Part II

Hey, I have an idea for a new EU constitution. It would go something like this: "We the People of Europe, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution . . ."

Oh, wait, yeah. Someone already tried checks and balances, robust free markets, limited government, and rugged individualism. Geez, what a disaster that was.

Anyway. An outstanding piece from the EU Referendum blog (British): Why they have got it wrong.

. . . Where they are gone wrong, of course, is that the European Union is not a political construct. It is closer to, if not in fact, a secular religion, the only thing separating it from one of the more established, fundamental religions is that God does not lie at the core of its belief system.

Instead, the core of this religion is "European Union", this mythical, ill-defined entity that encompasses all, the attainment of which is the ultimate goal of the "project". European Union is no longer for anything – it does not have a purpose. It is the end in itself, the utopia, nothing less than heaven on earth. But, like the Holy Grail, it will never be found. Its acolytes simply strive, Bhudda-like, to achieve the ultimate level of attainment, without ever achieving it. There is always one more level, one more treaty, to attain.

As a secular religion, it of course has all the trappings of the more established religions. For its dogma, it has the sacred acquis communautaire. It has its High Priests in its European Commission, its Praetorian Guard, in the phalanxes of Monnet professors – the Jesuits of Integration – and, of course, its pastoral bishops and priests, its members of the European Parliament. And, of course, it has it temples, its churches and shrines, its saints and martyrs - and its mantras and incantations.

. . . Crucially, like any religion, it does not obey the rules of politics. As a belief system, it divides the world into two camps, the believers and the unbelievers, the latter group encompassing a division known as "Eurosceptics" or "Europhobes". In the context, these should be better known as heretics, or perhaps "Euroheretics" - "Europrotestants" even.

That is why the High Priests cannot take note of "no" votes in referendums. They cannot rethink, reform, or change their ways because that, in itself, would be heresy. Simply, if the people do not agree, they must be – as a matter of definition – wrong. They are to be pitied, cosseted and then guided back into the path of righteousness. No more could their false beliefs be accommodated than could an Inquisitor suddenly agree with the point of view of a heretic and release him from the rack or liberate him from the purifying fire.

And it is that which sets the framework for the current events, and will dictate the response of the "colleagues". They are not wrong; there is nothing wrong with the "project". It is simply that the people have misunderstood.

. . . Driven by religious zeal, it will go on and on until it is stopped, physically, and brutally, or the politicians which give it its sustenance drive a stake through its heart.

Dang. The EU is a vampire, Frankenstein, and an orthodox juggernaut all at once. Couldn't have been more blistering myself.

UPDATE: European leaders may scrap constitution.

Anatole Kaletsky: Europe's Dirty Little Secret.

Whatever you think of European integration, there is something inspiring about 20 million people who, having been told what to do by their most respected politicians and after listening attentively, then do the exact opposite.

This week’s referendums in France and the Netherlands are probably the most significant event in European history since the end of the Cold War. As in Germany after its citizens found that they could smash symbolic chunks out of the Berlin Wall with impunity, everyday life in Europe may go on as before, but nothing will ever be quite the same.