Independence Day brings an end to one of the most interesting weeks I have had in Spain.
The Catalonian parliament declared independence from Spain about an hour ago. Spain just voted to implement Article 155 under their constitution and take control of the region. Tensions have risen to levels unknown in the democracy. This entire situation is Kafkaesque. I don't have a horse in this race and can honestly say that both sides have let this go to the brink in order to not lose face (tough negotiating ploys) and there have been mistakes all around. I won't go into details. Suffice to say that we are talking about a country in Spain that has only had democratic institutions since 1979. This is a young democracy and all parties involved have done a poor job of using democratic principals/institutions in order to resolve this mess. I won't opine more on this situation. I have very close friends on both sides of the fence (some will be joining pro-independence demonstrations, others anti-independence demonstrations, and I am talking about friends who just had lunch together with my wife) and what is happening here is very disconcerting. What I can say is that as Americans we should all the more appreciate our 230+ year-old democracy and the democratic institutions that have bound us together all these years. Of course, we had the Civil War, but we survived that crisis (for the better, of course, with the rightful abolition of slavery). What is happening in Catalonia should, however, serve as a warning that we should not take our democratic institutions and freedoms associated with them for granted. I don't want this to devolve into a political post so please no political posts. Suffice to say, we should all appreciate what we have in the United States and never take our freedoms and institutions for granted.
This marks an end to one of the most interesting weeks I have had in Spain. I was in the Rioja region last weekend, which is the heart of wine country, and also took a short trip to the Basque region. We visited a few vineyards and then decided to visit an old village called Laguardia (yes, like the airport/former NY mayor). I found it strange that it was so hard to find a parking place but thought nothing of it. We walked through part of the old town and then came to a barrier in an old alley. People are milling in the street on the other side of the barrier so I figure that there was a parade, bike race or marathon that had been run through the town that was over. My wife, who has so-so Spanish, told me something about "cows" having escaped in the town. I thought nothing of it and was about to hop the fence with a friend when all of a sudden we see a swarm of people running right towards us. Next thing you know they are being passed up by charging bulls. Yes, there was a running of the bulls, something obviously not limited to nearby Pamplona. And to think I almost hopped right into it.
In any event, several other interesting stories to eventually share, including catching up with some hens crowing in the middle of a cathedral, but I will save them all for another day. The next few weeks are going to get very heated around here, so I guess I will be spending more time on this relatively "calm" message board. Gotta keep things in perspective folks. A lot more serious things going on in the world than our offensive woes.
The Catalonian parliament declared independence from Spain about an hour ago. Spain just voted to implement Article 155 under their constitution and take control of the region. Tensions have risen to levels unknown in the democracy. This entire situation is Kafkaesque. I don't have a horse in this race and can honestly say that both sides have let this go to the brink in order to not lose face (tough negotiating ploys) and there have been mistakes all around. I won't go into details. Suffice to say that we are talking about a country in Spain that has only had democratic institutions since 1979. This is a young democracy and all parties involved have done a poor job of using democratic principals/institutions in order to resolve this mess. I won't opine more on this situation. I have very close friends on both sides of the fence (some will be joining pro-independence demonstrations, others anti-independence demonstrations, and I am talking about friends who just had lunch together with my wife) and what is happening here is very disconcerting. What I can say is that as Americans we should all the more appreciate our 230+ year-old democracy and the democratic institutions that have bound us together all these years. Of course, we had the Civil War, but we survived that crisis (for the better, of course, with the rightful abolition of slavery). What is happening in Catalonia should, however, serve as a warning that we should not take our democratic institutions and freedoms associated with them for granted. I don't want this to devolve into a political post so please no political posts. Suffice to say, we should all appreciate what we have in the United States and never take our freedoms and institutions for granted.
This marks an end to one of the most interesting weeks I have had in Spain. I was in the Rioja region last weekend, which is the heart of wine country, and also took a short trip to the Basque region. We visited a few vineyards and then decided to visit an old village called Laguardia (yes, like the airport/former NY mayor). I found it strange that it was so hard to find a parking place but thought nothing of it. We walked through part of the old town and then came to a barrier in an old alley. People are milling in the street on the other side of the barrier so I figure that there was a parade, bike race or marathon that had been run through the town that was over. My wife, who has so-so Spanish, told me something about "cows" having escaped in the town. I thought nothing of it and was about to hop the fence with a friend when all of a sudden we see a swarm of people running right towards us. Next thing you know they are being passed up by charging bulls. Yes, there was a running of the bulls, something obviously not limited to nearby Pamplona. And to think I almost hopped right into it.
In any event, several other interesting stories to eventually share, including catching up with some hens crowing in the middle of a cathedral, but I will save them all for another day. The next few weeks are going to get very heated around here, so I guess I will be spending more time on this relatively "calm" message board. Gotta keep things in perspective folks. A lot more serious things going on in the world than our offensive woes.
