Posted on 07/31/2015 5:45:30 PM PDT by NRx
Everything I needed to know about why the European Union would fail I learned at a truck stop.
It was in 2001 when a bus tour I was on stopped at a truck stop on the German Autobahn. For the American readers, you must understand that European truck stops are much different from what you get in the states. In Europe, the facilities are clean and the food is actually decent. They don’t have the same hot dogs sitting in the cooker for five days. And no, you can’t buy six gallon soda cups.
As it were, in this truck stop the inside was what you expect to see in Germany. It was clean and efficient. You grabbed your tray, stood in line quietly, pointed to the food for the scowling German lady cook to serve you, and moved to the next station. It had just enough order, cleanliness, and gray color inside to remind you that you were in Germany, but without making you feel like you were in East Germany.
As the bus wound its way across Europe we eventually stopped in Italy at the identical chain of truck stop. This is where I had an epiphany about the European Union, the Euro, multiculturalism, and why it’s all a bunch of garbage.
Italy is a great country, but nobody is going to tell you it’s like Germany unless they are a completely clueless moron. Instead of the quiet line of people collecting their food and proceeding to the next station, you instead had a mob of people yelling, waving their hands, and rushing the counter in a huge mass. If you didn’t push forward, you didn’t get food. In other words, it was Italian.
This is when I realized the EU and the Euro would never work. The idea that you were going to get Italians, Germans, Spaniards, Greeks, French, Dutch, etc. to live under one government and one currency is simply madness. Not only are the Germans far too impatient to deal with the hyper-emotional Italians, but the Italians are far too laid back to want to deal with a bunch of controlling Germans. This of course applies to the other countries as well. The Dutch really don’t like the French telling them what to do. The French don’t like the Germans. The Germans don’t like the Spaniards (or anyone else), and everyone dislikes the Swiss mostly because they were smart enough to not join the EU and share the misery.
And really how could it be any different? The idea that you’re going to put all these different people, languages, and cultures under the same currency and control is just mind-boggling stupid. Now they want to bring in all of Eastern Europe and possibly Turkey to add to the excitement? Yikes.
Culture matters far more than today’s enlightened man is allowed to admit. And frankly, most cultures probably are better off having nothing to do with each other in terms of common governance. For starters, having one currency with countries that have defaulted multiple times (like Italy, Greece, Spain, etc.) is like opening up your bank account to your entire extended family: An extended family complete with check writing privileges to your deadbeat cousin and crazy uncle. Who wouldn’t expect that situation to eventually lead to conflict?
Then you have to ask some more pointed questions. For instance, why does Germany want to support Italy? Why should Italians be held hostage to the wishes of German taxpayers? Why should Greek politicians care about spending when they know everyone else will bail them out? The entire idea breeds nothing but contempt and hostility as any collectivist system eventually does.
This is why I thought more than a decade ago (2001) that the Euro wouldn’t last 20 years. I’m now 13 years into that prediction and each year I feel more certain that the entire thing will fly apart.
The only issue we need to worry about when it does fly apart is whether it will kick off another war, which it very well might. This is no small irony considering the leftist imbeciles that backed the forming of the EU did so with the idea that it would prevent future wars by tying everyone together. Of course what they didn’t anticipate is when everyone is tied together they are more able to swing knives at each other.
I like every country I’ve been to in Europe. But, the reason I like them is because they are different. Trying to make them all the same in a multi-culti rainbow of happiness requires an all-powerful overbearing government that must rule by lowest common denominator. The different groups, and different group interests, will ensure that fights happen so nobody has it any better than anyone else. By trying to make everyone happy, you make nobody happy. Didn’t we learn this already from other failed Marxist experiments?
I left Europe at the time when they were transitioning to their suicidal Euro experiment. I kept some of the old currencies when I was there for souvenirs. I’m thinking I’ll be able to spend them again after the Euro and EU finally goes away.
“Ofcourse, intellectually, I KNOW smelly, unprocessed cheeses>than chemicalized faux McDonalds food...But, what can you do?”
Probably no significant risk difference. Whatever chemical problems you could get with McDonards are more than compensated for the bio-pathogens in the German Cheese.
Both risks are so small as to be negligible.
The big risk from both is the calories, and the tendency to gain weight.
I had forgotten about Little America!
Real nice truck stops.
There’s also one in Flagstaff, Arizona.
They have two truck lots, nice restaurant and a food court type arrangement in the truck stop area. The food there is great.
They had a lot of Indians working there, which I found interesting.
Little America is the only group who has successfully made an appeal to vacationers and truck drivers.
They bill themselves as resorts.
There was a local stop in Alabama, on a US highway instead of the interstate.
Its a smallish stop but had good parking. The food was pretty good, but the showers were great.
Large and roomy and the shower head was in the ceiling so the water flowed straight down.
Really nice, and two towels was standard.
I stopped there several times but can’t remember the name or the nearest town.
The only time I lost a tire on the road was in Michigan.
I had picked up a bolt in one of the drives.
By the time I found it the next morning, I had worn the head off and the bolt had punctured the tire.
I forget how much it cost. But I checked my tires *closely* at every stop after that.
Don’t know if you ever smoked but do you remember the little drive up mobile home on the reservation in AZ?
You could pull up to a window in your rig, and buy ciggs.
A carton of Marlboro was $9.00.
This was the early 90’s.
I never stopped on the reservation, cigarettes were still pretty cheap here in Virginia and I stocked up at home.
If I ran low I could always find some state with cheap smokes.
I remember one guy who would run 100 miles out of route to buy 3 cartons of cheap cigarettes.
I don’t know about you, but I sure miss driving.
Most days anyway.
Wonder how many people caught that famous Kingston Trio oldie??
I recall in high school, several of my idiot pals and I used to sing that song and even in those days the teach gave us grief.
And Santiago, Chile is further east than New York City.
Wife and I were talking this morning and both said we miss the traveling part.
We always referred to ourselves as “professional tourists” anyway.
Our daughter was grown, and we would run our tails off during the week, and get a hotel room, and go sight seeing on the weekends.
I bobtailed through the Painted Desert, and Petrified Forest once. When we pulled up to the ticket shack, I asked the ranger if I could make it under any overhangs, etc. He said, “You’re not as big as some of the motorhomes coming in, and I’m sure you’re a better driver. Have fun.”
You caught it. That’s one. :))
I never had the time for much sightseeing.
Just always seemed to be in a hurry.
The wife and I are talking about being “professional vacationers”.
Buying a smallish motor home and following the good weather.
Mobile snowbirding I call it.
She’s sick of cold weather and we’re both tired of the Virginia humidity.
I want her to see the Mojave desert, the salt flats outside SLC.
Take her to Michigans upper peninsula and cross over into Wisconsin.
This is a big old country, and beautiful as all get out.
Near my bedtime.
Been nice talking to you.
May the Good Lord bless you and yours.
My wife and I are going to make the same escape of Eastern KY hopefully around the first of the year. We’re headed for NM or AZ. I have some inherited land out there.
Good luck also.
We’ll stay in touch through FR, and if you guys motor into our area, we’ll give you a place to plug in.
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