Many of us remember where we were on June 23, 2016. I was on an airplane headed to New York City, and when I landed I got the news. I remember where I was because I was worried that another great depression was about to begin.
On that day, Britain voted to leave the European Union. Over the next few days, a multitude of people expressed fears, anger and hate in several ways.
Our own president said we would be “next” to reclaim our independence. The long term worry was a much larger scale disaster than simply Britain leaving.
“Brexit” revealed a chink in the European Union’s armor. The “new” populists condemning the European Union seemed to steal the spotlight because they now looked legitimate instead of xenophobic, authoritarian, or for a few, simply racist.
Why?
“Brexit” revealed that a huge contingent of the European Union's population (450 million people) felt sidelined by the European Union, and they only found their voice through populism.
Where am I today?
Fresh off a plane from Berlin in Los Angeles. Being back in the United States, it’s difficult for me, if not impossible, to empathize with parties like the AfD, National Front and UKIP.
But empathy has never meant you have to agree with those you empathize with. And I don’t agree with any of them. But to understand them, I have to get past that, and understand their supporters.
Are many of their supporters racists? Yes.
But are most? Doubtful.
Who are most of them, then?
Believe it or not, most of them are not “old conservatives.” Most are the uneducated and unemployed from young and old. They are not the intellectuals who see the benefits outsiders see.
They feel oppressed. Overlooked. Forgotten even.
They are not looking to be told that their job as a fishermen cannot be supported because a country’s fishing waters are now being used by another European country to support its economy.
They are not looking to be told that there are simply no opportunities for a job in their own country. What they are looking for is someone to tell them their misery is not their fault.
This message is the calling card of the “new” populism - all across their platforms they blame Muslim immigrants, the European Union, a third attempt by Germany to control Europe or an international conspiracy originating from Brussels for the problems of their populace.
In a way, these people have been forgotten. The attention has only fallen on them recently. But sadly, that is why I believe now that Brexit was good for the European Union.
When I was there, no one was trying to silence populists. Something I have not seen in a long time is once again taking place: citizens are challenging one another, not silencing each other.
The attention is on the fate of the European Union. People now see how deadly populism can be when it is not taken seriously, because this is how Brexit happened.
However, something else that occurred when Europe didn’t take a threat seriously is on the back of everyone’s minds - the second world war.
According to several scholars the remembrance of suffering in the second world war and the pan-European efforts to commemorate the Holocaust were “Europeanizing” phenomenons - they bonded the peoples of Europe and helped them formulate what it meant to be “European” (Henning Grundwald, "Nothing More Cosmopolitan than the Camps").
Because of Brexit, people are once again defining this term - “European,” and thinking of how to prevent disaster. A clear answer for many of them is becoming the preservation of the European Union. The French men and women I ran into claim this is why they voted for Macron. They knew that if they voted for Le Penne, it would be another stab to the European Union (Personal Interview, Victor Planche, Juliette Marchet).
They remembered that Churchill was one of the first to articulate on the concept. Churchill claimed that at the Union’s core should be the integration of the French and German governments, economies and institutions to prevent France and Germany from going to war again.
Those I spoke to about this phenomenon are also looking back on their own histories once again and see the same disasters that befell when threats were not taken seriously and people ignored each other.
The Irish look at the Vikings and invasions by England (Personal Interview, Donagh McHenry).
The Germans look at their experience in the 20th century (Grundwald).
Another common thread they all notice, like the French looking on their history - a divide in Europe, one that allowed for war. War that was preventable. War that a European Union can prevent.
Though Brexit highlighted divides and gave demagogues the spotlight, its aftermath compelled people to understand history to understand the world they lived in.
It is because of Brexit, people are thinking. They are studying history. They are engaging in political dialogue. They are empathizing. They are listening.
And it is this last aspect we know is a key to solving problems. So, as long as Europe’s ears are open, the European Union and democracy can stay alive.
