Catalonia and other identities in our common home
It is rather unfair to set the entities of Catalonia and Spain against each other. As if Catalonia were a singular entity attached to the Spanish State, and the latter an homogeneous mass.
Spain is the result of a good number of overlapping historic and cultural identities. If we talk about cultural identities in Spain, we find the Basque, the Galician, the Castillian-Leonese, the Valencian, the Andalusian, the Asturian... If we enumerate the historic entities, there we have the kingdoms of Castille, Leon, Asturias, Galicia, Valencia, Mallorca, Jaen, Toledo, Badajoz... a great number of small medieval kingdoms that, if you wished, could be vindicated as political units.
In a division based on languages, we find that Galician/Portuguese overlaps in Galicia, Portugal and areas on the borders with Castile, Leon and Asturias, Basque in the Basque Country and north of Navarre, Catalan in the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and on the border of Aragon with Catalonia and we could also mention linguistic varieties that vindicate themselves as languages in other territories.
When nationalists oppose Catalonia to the rest of Spain, they are denying the cultural, historical and linguistic identities of other territories in the Spanish State their singularity, putting us all in the same bag.
It is interesting that they demand so much respect for their identity when they show so little for that of others.
When nationalists point out the State as the enemy, they seem to forget that we are all part of Spain. Catalans included. A State where all singularities converge and where we all try to find our place in our common home.
Hence the great amazement of the rest of the Spaniards when nationalists say they are not against the Spanish people, but against the Spanish State. As if the Spanish State were an external entity imposed upon all of us instead of something created by all of us.
They also seem to forget that, in the same way that we have all created the Spanish State, we can also improve it together.
FΩRMIdea Valencia, 7th February 2018.
Benifairó de les Valls, Comunidad valenciana
Spain | Catalonia
France | Brittany
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