Chapter 62 blue flag and kids

one At the entrance of the lobby of the European Union headquarters in Brussels, a beam of light shines on the blue flag that is quietly falling.Behind it, rows of national flags embrace each other as its backing.These national flags used to fly high in front of their respective national borders. Since they had them, everyone took them back one after another and came here to enjoy the tranquility. This flag has come a long way.The contemplation from Kant, the cry from Hugo, and the rift that cannot be healed in the European land for thousands of years.The people of Waterloo turned their backs on their backs dozens of miles away, and the flags were raised and the flags fell. Finally, there is this flag. This is the conclusion.

It turned out that the alliance was formed only for anti-war purposes, but unexpectedly brought a new structure and new checks and balances to the world, and we seem to be less concerned about this.Last night I asked Mr. Song Mingjiang, the Chinese ambassador to Belgium: What is the most important thing in Europe that the Chinese should pay attention to? The ambassador said: EU. two According to the general concept, why is Brussels as important as Paris, London, and Berlin?But it is its unimportance that makes it important today. It is impossible for any major country to use its capital as an international coordination center to win the trust of other major countries.Therefore, Belgium, too small to pose a threat to others and centrally located, was the right choice.Brussels, where the European Union is headquartered, has become an international center of diplomacy and news, which not only we did not expect, but many heads of government also did not expect.

The reason why I didn't expect it was that I was still thinking according to the traditional concept of international politics. I always felt that the EU is just an international organization. How can it be compared to a country?In fact, the European Union emerged in response to this concept of national supremacy, because history has repeatedly proved that the extreme form of this concept has not only caused too many human disasters, but also dismembered the vitality of the European land and caused an imbalance in the global balance of power. At present, the major actions of the EU are mainly manifested in the economic aspect, focusing on creating a common market.For this reason, even the currency tends to be unified, which is really a big deal.In the current economic era, currency is an important aspect of a country's sovereignty. These countries are willing to be washed away even this sovereignty, so don't underestimate their determination to unite.We have seen along the way that so many European countries don't care about border defense at all. All the vehicles drive straight in, and the only obstacle they encounter is currency.What kind of pleasure will it be if the euro is fully adopted?The current exchange rate of the euro in the international market has suffered a setback, but this is temporary. In the long run, there will be no major problems.

Along the way, I also saw that the EU has provided very substantial assistance to poor countries that have joined the EU.The aid payments received by Spain, Greece, Ireland, and Portugal each year occupy a very important position in the national economy.Like Ireland, due to the good use of this fund, it has developed tremendously in recent years and attracted international attention. Based on economic unity, defense, foreign affairs, internal affairs, and judicial aspects will all respond one by one.Of course, there are a lot of troubles, and the EU is also cautious, but it has not backed down.The small steps that have never been retreated, accumulated over time, will step up to a big step in a blink of an eye.

Politicians will pay attention to the practical consequences of every move of the EU, but I am concerned about its shaking of traditional concepts of international politics.Many accustomed categories need to start anew, and many propositions that are considered classics need to re-find their connotations and extensions.In the past few years, I have been worried about the earth-shaking changes brought about by the information revolution and the humanistic structure of the world is still so old. Now I see the steady progress of the European Union, only to find that Europe has used a big act to force the humanities and social sciences to take a new form. Entering a new era, it is a pity that the humanities and social sciences have not yet realized it, and they are seriously lagging behind.

My friends always thought that when I traveled to Europe, I would be fascinated by its history and culture. In fact, I paid special attention to the current development along the way.Arriving in Brussels is like an outline, suddenly seeing how Europe is trying to reinvent itself in the old structure, saying goodbye to yesterday.Of course, this kind of attempt will face serious obstacles in terms of cultural ecology, so we can only start with practice, and place our greatest hope on the next generation. I remember that in another office of the European Union in Strasbourg, I thought of the little Franz portrayed by Daudet in "The Last Lesson" and a lady Louis Weiss who later made great contributions to European unity. Both grew up in the see-saw zone of European conflicts, so I lamented that all the noble ideas of human beings may come from the wishful eyes of boys and girls in troubled places.

Unexpectedly, when I came to the highest headquarters of the European Union in Brussels, I saw a large group of sculptures of boys and girls crawling on the iron fence at the gate.It seems that they are all so mischievous and pungent, and they crawled to the gate of the European Union carelessly, and they all looked up to the sky, talking and laughing, and did not come down for several years. I really admire the designs of sculptors, and the most daring political ideas of adults, all of which coincide with children's fantasies; generally, adults will get rid of all the twists and turns that children cannot understand, sooner or later.These children do not have the old-fashioned attitude of a little gentleman or a little knight. Their hair is unkempt, their clothes are disheveled, they completely reject the old age's dressing up, and turn their heads to the new century. I don't know if they will shape the new century or let the new century shape them. .

Therefore, these children at the gate of the EU headquarters are sculptures, decorations, guards, and ideas.