From: alopezar@athena.mit.edu (Alfonso Lopez-Arteaga)
Subject: Articulo sobre Europa en 'The Tech'
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 00:31:35 GMT

	Para todos aquellos que, como yo, penseis que este es un gran pais con el
pequen~o defecto de mirarse tanto al ombligo que aun no se ha enterado de que
tiene los pies sucios, ahi os va este articulo que no he podido evitar compartir
con vosotros a pesar de lo largo que ha sido de copiar.

	Matthew H. Hersch, "Opinion Editor" de "The Tech", periodico impreso en
MIT, escribe en su columna de opinion el miercoles 2 de Septiembre:

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"	Europeans should wait on rush towards unity
        -------------------------------------------

	I like Europe, Europeans do funny things. Europe is everything that
America is only more intense.
	Sometimes this is good-Europe has more than its fair share of cutting
edge politics, culture, and science. But it also means that when Europe gos
astray, it goes really astray, and civilization is pushed to the limits of
survival. Europe is a prime example of what happens when you put together a lot
of people in one place for 2,000 years and don't give them extra land to settle.
	If the U.S. thinks it has ethnic troubles, it should take a look at
Europe. Europe has Nazis. Well, the U.S. has nazis too, but in Europe, they vote.
In Europe, they set their migrant workers on fire. Europe is the only place in
the world where two caucasian males can hate each other for racial reasons.
	Europe is what America could become if it doesn't mellow out.
	Europe is also probably the oldest nonarrestes civilization on the planet
today. Europe is the only place on earth where a large number of culturally
different people have resided within limited space, still maintained their ethnic
identities, and still not killed each other.
	This is quite an amazing feat, and even given the fact that every hundred
years or so one of the European nations tries to take over the rest. Considering
European nation's history of unhappy togetherness, it's surprising that now they
want to unite.
	But they do. According to Mastrich Treaty, European nations are supposed
to be glued together into one, great big Japanese-fighting economic unit.
	The goal isn't just a free trade zone across Europe-Europeans are looking
for complete economic union, a common foreign policy, and a common currency. They
are searching for something no European dictator was ever able to achieve. But it
isn't turning out that way. In France now, especially, farmers, fascists,
communists, and other European political staples are coming out tlaking about the
danger of more immigrants, or higher unemployment, or inflation, or selling out
the national government to foreigners.
	The opposition to unification is too random, too uncoordinated, to be
based on any real fear or risk. It is a reflexive reaction to the belief that
Europeans who get sucked into the Community will have their national sovereignity
hopelessly diluted. Faced by the prospect that unification might happen,
Europeans are getting scared.
	They are right. Europeans are not trying to unite because their own
nations are not working, they are just being lured togother by the hope that if
they unify then their nations will work even better, by the hope, as the posters
say in France, "Being one of twelve is stronger than being alone."
	But that's good enough reason. Bonding enemies together doesn't always
build friendships, and doesn't always breed success. Taking a bunch of national
leaders with different ideas and forcing them to create a common foreign policy
doesn't always create a policy everyone beliefs in. In history, the groups that
have united the best have always been the ones that had the most in common in the
first place.
	People have this notion that in hte future everyone will be politically
united-at least, that's how it is portrayed on Star Trek. Sometimes we hope for
this imagined future so much that we rush it. It's clear, for instance, that
Europeans like their national characters too much to want to do away with
them-their unification efforts seem better spent on figuring out how to keep
those national characters and still not kill each other."
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Bueno, que os ha parecido?
Mi particular opinion es que este articulo es el fruto de una mente infantil
incapaz de analizar la realidad, no ya de Europa, que tan lejos esta, sino ni tan
siquiera de su propio pais. Parece ser que evalua el futuro del mundo con los
canones emanados de un solido ideal, del que las generaciones norteamericanas
han amamantado durante los ultimos veinte an~os: Star Trek, por supuesto,
(yo ya duermo con pinzas en las orejas para pertenecer a la elite cientifica que
Spoke encabezara). Lo triste del caso es que esto ha sido escrito por un
estudiante (mas le vale ser undergrad, porque si es grad, demuestra una inmadurez
digna del premio "Baberin del an~o") de MIT, supuestamente con un nivel cultural,
capacidad de analisis y acceso a la informacion internacional superior a la
media de la poblacion, lo que me hace pensar que ahi fuera hay norteamericanos
que dan como validas sus opiniones (alguno me esta escuchando?). Esta teoria se
vio reforzada esa misma tarde en un coloquio aqui en MIT donde un prestigioso
profesor de astronomia de esta institucion, varias veces galardonado, al cual no
quiero referirme personalmente, sostuvo de nuevo la misma teoria de que la
fusion de razas en USA ha sido perfecta, pacifica y enriquecedora, algo unico en
el mundo, no como en Europa donde las guerras y conflictos la sacuden
periodicamente. Parece ser que hay mas gente que admitiria como valido este
analisis.
Creo que la mayoria de nosotros estaremos de acuerdo en la critica a esta
prenatal (un infante seria mas maduro) vision de Europa, pero al menos ha traido
a la palestra el tema de la unidad europea, bastante mas digno de discusion que
esta, a mi modesto entender, pesadilla veraniega de un pazguato, eslabon perdido
en la teoria de la evolucion de Darwin.
Cualquiera que desee escribir una respuesta, me comprometo a enviarla a la
redaccion de The Tech. Perdonad si he sido un poco duro con el autor, pero es que
he oido a Jose Maria Garcia ultimamente y he escrito esto usando la parte derecha
de mi cerebro, tal y como aconseja el psicologo preparador de las gimnastas del
equipo espan~ol de gimnasia ritmica que dejaron en casa una muy meritoria medalla
de plata.(asi que debe funcionar)
	Alf