People actually speaking of nationalism - as it is used in politics - like it's a good thing.
Trump's kind of false patriotism is at worst a wake-up call, a temporary privileged bragging survival of the fittest policy where the market rules all. Our European versions (Le Pen, UKIP, Wilders, Sweden Democrats etc) are (and only because we're economically too small individually to be anything else) nothing but racist, classist and fascist.
This is not an issue we can afford to throw away protest-votes on - if you vote for Le Pen because you're sick of the established elite of corrupted politicians, you are supporting not only what is the official party manifest but also the entire ugly underbelly of a society we all live in and have spent a century trying to make better. And since, unlike the US, most European countries do have more than two viable political parties, surely you can find something better than that. Don't settle for the options given you - look for something else.
Despite ALL the flaws of the European Union, its member states, the human species in general, giving in to the dark side should not be an option.
The world wasn't better in the old days - we had as many wars as we do now, we had as much crime as we do now, children were as likely to bully other kids as they are now. The only difference is that we're more aware, that people's rights are more protected, that we have developed a mindset that protests and doesn't just accept what the upstairs tell us.
In so many ways, the world is a better place now - and a lot of it has to do with cooperation, with actively working together for something that's not just in your immediate interest or mine, but can possibly benefit the world beyond our scope.
The EU, the market, society as a whole - we are all not only part of these, but they literally wouldn't exist without us and there are civilised, democratic ways of changing something for the better without destroying it. (Which is kind of not so funny considering how these people are so against leftist revolutions, or anti-system parties when Trump literally went to war with slogans like that. And Spanish Partido Popular calling Podemos populist and anti-system, as if it is by default an insult. Because obviously Podemos are populist and anti-system, in the sense that they are a party consisting of ordinary people turned politicians, because the current system is doing a better job at protecting the banks and big businesses than the people they're always claiming to work for - and paying themselves handsomely for it too. If anything, the ugly populists - the ones that feed negative popular sentiment to gain votes - are PP themselves.)
If you - with or without all your best intentions - vote to bring down the European Union; if you as a European or as a human, support Trump's business model, you are doing nothing but aiding an unbridled economic speculation market and its rulers. You're supporting the same system that covered the Spanish coastline with hotels and adjacent parks that consist of raked gravel paths and a line of palm trees that give no shade, and bungalows with empty terraces and paved gardens "because the tourists come here for the sun and cheap wine"; you are supporting a view of the world where it's every man for himself - and I do mean every man, because there is no way to excuse or explain away such misogynistic attitudes and views. This is no longer the usual budget discussions and compromises, where you can accept some losses in one area for the sake of something more important right now, in another. Trump and the far right are so ugly that you cannot pick out the rotten raisins and not swallow the big fat flies with them.
Not everybody can nor wants to stand on the barricades, but people before us did just that to give us the right to make our voices heard. So, if you really do have fascistic, racist or in general non-inclusive tendencies, or are willing to support such a world view, fine, go ahead, you're obviously in your right to do so, but for the rest of us, put aside one hour to cast your vote, and do it consciously, do not take it lightly. Make a decision as educated as you can, and really really think about what you're doing.
Don't be selfish.
Try to not be too short-sighted.
In short, just try.
So, alongside the corruption scandals and the attempt to ban the Catalán flag at Sunday's game, the decision by tho local government of Castilla y León to prohibit the killing of the bull at the Toro de la Vega festival must surely be the biggest news right now. But even though I was expecting anger, ignorance and even hate from those wishing to keep the festival as is, it still bowls me over when I hear arguments like "but we've always done this" or "if you don't like it, look away". Yeah, well, we've always had wars; women have always been paid less; up until very recently, children always worked. And dessert always comes after dinner. But none of these things are laws of nature that cannot be broken. And actually, even they can be sidestepped a little if you try.Argh, I know we're only at the start and most of the time nowadays I marvel at the positive steps the world is taking towards a kinder and more fair society. But then you hear people like this, who are not only ignorant (we were all horribly ignorant at one point; I wasn't born a vegan and still make so many mistakes, and there is still so much I don't know or don't know how to change) but actually seem to be proud of it. They spend a year planning a murder by torture and not once stop to even think about what they're doing. Or maybe they did stop and think and decided to go ahead anyway, which would make them some kind of psychos. Are they even thinking people at all or are they a bundle of nerves acting upon instinct? One wonders. But every time I see a commercial that's not gender specific, that shows a dog playing freely on a beach, a boy with long hair, a man who calls himself a feminist, a cat that's not just part of the furniture, an idea that makes you pause and maybe go ooh, those are tiny moments that give hope and makes you smile at the wonder of humanity. Positive thinking rules. Smiley face. ;)
