Yes, “Europe” is complex, often technocratic and technical; yes, the euro was perhaps overambitious and premature; yes, crowds in Europe still cheer for the home team – but they do that in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., too (Too Big To Fail, Too Vague To Succeed – Dec. 8). Local identities are not inconsistent with larger identities. “Europe” is a reality in people’s minds and souls, as well as in laws and regulations. And the EU is a force largely for the good.
If “Europe” fails, millions will suffer – and not only in Europe.
Gilbert Reid, Toronto
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Not only are European national identities becoming more vague, they are, from an expanding periphery, marked by extreme nationalism and xenophobia. The NPD in Germany, Front National in France and Italy’s Alleanza Nazionale are all far-right parties whose support has grown since the Maastricht Treaty, not to mention the proliferation of extraparliamentary white supremacist groups.
The inability of EU nationals to have a say in IMF and Central Bank negotiations will only deepen disaffections, leading individuals to more radical political alternatives. The danger is not loss of identity, but loss of the values that have been the historical basis of European success: tolerance, reason, inquiry and progress.
Ryan Lum, Ottawa
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Enviro heroes
I applaud the young Canadian activists who stood with their backs toward Environment Minister Peter Kent as he spoke his anti-Kyoto rhetoric in Durban (In Durban, Kyoto’s End Seems Sure – Dec. 8). Attuned to the environmental threat to our planet, they are our heroes.
I urge others of their cohort to join them because their parents’ generation (55-plus) seems incapable of steering this once great nation toward being a safe, healthy, compassionate land.
Carolyn Ferguson, Calgary
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On thin ice
Patrick Chan needs to do some nifty skating – quickly – if he’s not going to be thought of as a very spoiled young man (Chan Feeling Unappreciated In Canada – Dec. 8). His reflections on how much more support he might have if he were skating for China seem insensitive to the fact his parents were fortunate to leave an oppressive Communist regime and find a welcome home here.
Their son is a wonderful figure skater and I count myself a fan. This holiday season might be an appropriate time for him to count his blessings and stop looking over his shoulder in search of greener pastures.
Simon Rosenblum, Toronto
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Signing off
Re Doors, Too (letters – Dec. 8): It’s not just chairs and doors that are upset. There’s a sign, “Cross Traffic,” close to where I live. I keep thinking that somehow, over the holidays, I might be able to cheer it up.
Elizabeth Muir, Toronto
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John Raybould is not alone in speculating on the emotions of doors. The one in our building states it “will release within 15 seconds of depressing the panic bar.” A depressed panic bar in the Psychology Department?
Miranda Anderson, Mount Royal University, Calgary
