This is far more complicated than can be addressed by this kitty in one short blog…but still, food for thought.
No, the Catalans are not voting for a cat to lead them, unfortunately. And if they vote to become their own country, they will NOT be in the EU and will have to pass all sorts of tests to be accepted into the European Union and papa says that they don’t really realize that the guy who is leading all of this embroilment, Artur Mas, is really asking his followers to all think the same, behave the same and swear allegiance to his tenets or they will be in disfavor with Mr. Mas and his Catalan followers. Or such is the opinion of Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy and many others.
Papa says Mas is very autocratic, whatever that is, but I’m pretty sure that it’s bad. Also dangerous to the region with Mr. Mas’s demand that everyone think alike. An article in La Repubblica suggests that he rabble-rouses to take attention away from the problems of Catalonia, and that he was never a separatist until recently.
Getting back into the EU will be more than difficult if Catalonia removes itself from Spain, because most of the voters for independence do not seem to realize the steps that must be taken to become a member of the esteemed EU and the requirements that must be met in order to have good standing with the EU countries.
Yes, the Catalans have suffered politically and physically.
In the past.
Yes, they were persecuted.
In the past.
Today they are a valuable and energetic and profitable people within an EU country from which they wish to secede.
Yes, they are a proud and enterprising and talented and intelligent people and because of this, they should be aware that working together with the Spanish, each one sharing its values and knowledge with the others’, is the best way to maintain prosperity and tranquility in Catalonia.
They are also often thought of as bull-headed and rigid about their beliefs and often do not respond objectively to arguments from the other side.
Heaven knows, this kitty has no idea what will come of all this, but a lot of our friends are Catalan and there are pros and cons from all of them. Some want independence and some feel it will be totally disastrous for the region, so not every Catalan is voting to secede, that’s for sure.
All I want is that they look closely at the pros and cons of this reasons for this uprising, which is looking a bit fanatical at this point, not to say hysterical. Nationalism has its place, but not if all the people of a country are to work together in peace and prosperity. One cannot demand that everyone must think alike or be ostracized within his or her Catalan communtiy. I think this is what papa means by autocratic. If you are not with us, you are against us. Not a good way to run a community.
We shall see.
Meanwhile, I’m solving it all by doing what I do best.
No, not contemplating The Critique of Pure Reason, how’d you guess?
MOON ALERT: Don’t forget to watch the moon eclipse tomorrow night!!!
You seem to be up on what is going on in the world. We wish the Catalans well and hope they make the right decision.
Well, they are just down the road when we’re in France so there’s a lot of them around here and a lot of controversy (whatever that is).