The Cult of Europe

Recent weeks of news and counter news about the Brexit negotiations and the state of the EU have brought into sharp focus the cultish aspects of the European project. A recent article that I saw about cults characterised them as being "organizations that are established under the disguise of religion or other groups, deify and preach about its chief members, bewitch and deceive others by fabricating and spreading superstitious and evil thoughts, enroll and control members, and endanger society shall be affirmed as cult organizations." I think that this definition could probably be applied to most governments, but it is particularly relevant for the EU.

A grouping of countries that was supposed to be an economic union has gradualy morphed and shifted towards being an organisation that supports its key founding members (Germany and France) at the expense of everyone else in the group. The Common Agricultural Policy has always favoured French farmers and the Euro and ECB exports German fiscal policies to the rest of Europe  (despite the strong currency and Angela Merkel's fetish for austerity being disasterous for the weaker economies such as Greece, Italy and Spain). When discussions about the Greek bailout problems occurred a few years ago and the suggestion was made that the country would have to leave the Euro to rebalance it's economy, the response from Germany was that leaving the Euro would automatially result in expulsion from the cult. Sunds a lot like Li Hongzhi's insistance that seeking medical attention for illness is a sign of a lack of faith in his Falun Gong cult and seems a lot like bewitching  and deceiving others. There's also an argument to be made that German austerity is supersticious and evil thought.

In order to join the EU, applicant countires have to commit to Germany's fiscal pronouncements and join the Euro: enrolling and controlling members. The EU definitely endangers society by inviting refugees into its borders and then letting them go wherever they like without any border checks whatsoever (I support free movement of people, but I don't see why you can't have border checks like those between Britain and France). All that's missing is giant rallies to worship Angela Merkel, but I don't suppose we're too far away from that.

The clearest sign of the EU's status as a cult comes from how it treats its members who wish to leave. Almost every leak from the EU about Brexit negotiations talks about how Britain will be damaged by leaving and that the country must be penalised for its audacity to go it alone. EU members are heading for some sort of economic and political utopia whereas anyone who leaves is heading for armageddon: which is pretty much the story for any cult you care to think of. It might stop slightly short of the doomsday prophesies and the beatings handed out by cults like Eastern Lightning.

Cults engage in brainwashing techniques to discourage critical thought and to ensure the absolute obedience of their members to the cult founder and his/her schemes. The European parliament serves that purpose for the EU. Most members have well and truly drank the cool-aid and any questioning of the European Project is met with derision and disdain. Look at how reluctant they were to give any conncessions to David Cameron, despite it being clear that reform was necessary for the continuation of the cult... err project.

Okay, maybe I've stretched the premise of ths post a bit far but EU leaders have to start thinking for themselves instead of just having blind faith in the union and those guiding it. The EU needs urgent and wide ranging reforms, but that isn't going to happen unless the people in positions of influence sit down and look critically at which parts of the union work and which don't. Not everyone in the EU can keep up with the German economy and the richest countries can't contiue to prop up the poorest just to save face. As things are, the European Cult is damaging its own members and its neighbours. Brexit should have provided the wake-up call that the union desperately needs, but it seems to have just driven everyone deeper into the cult. I truly hope they wake up soon, because the beautiful dream of a united Europe is quickly turning into a nightmare.