This was a momentous occasion for the five million inhabitants of Denmark, who are in the process of redefining their national identity. Both sides have advocates, and vociferous ones at that. The issue is provoking bitter arguments among the normally easy-going Danes. I argue that it has little to do with the name or value of the monetary unit, and everything to do with nationalism.
Economic objections are unfounded.
Regardless of how much the Danes quote economic statistics, the underlying sentiment is one of doubt about the future of their nation, and of the union. The nations of Europe are too different in their histories, languages, and cultures for the analogy to work, and fortunately so. After all, if the continent were to become a single political entity with a fairly uniform culture, the world would have lost something invaluable. Europe is characterized in large measure by the rich regional variation among its nations, each of which has a distinct character and identity. Traveling short distances brings one to radically different environments, unlike in the US, where variation is less stark and the same basic culture reigns across a geographic area comparable to that of Europe.