How much does culture make us like one another?

I am not sure exactly what you are asking. europe already has a European Union of many of the countries there, and each country still maintains its culture. It may blur more over time as people move around more from country to country. America basically is what you suggest already. We have 50 states, and each one has its own identity, it was more true back at the beginning of the time the US was forming, then it became more of a regional thing I would say, and still is to some extent. The various regions have different cultures somewhat due to who emigrated there, but also the citizenry becomes Americanized over time and there is somewhat of a blurring of customes and cultures, but many people hold onto their national identity or ethnicity of their familes who came here.

I think larger countries tend to have more power, so Europe creating a union And uniting their money I think is very positive for them if they can continue to work it through. I think many Americans would be fine with Canada becoming united with the US, and I know Canadians who would be fine with it too, but I have no reall feel for what percentage of Canadians would actually be in favor of it. Mexico is trickier, because it is still a developing nation, and would likely put a big strain on the American economy. We already have NAFTA that opens business borders between the three countries. If each country can keep their own identity and government maybe North America could work out soething, but I just don’t see the US or Canada taking the huge step of opening all the borders with Mexico. As it is there are huge divisions among Americans about immigration from Mexico.

I just reread your question…do you mean pop culture? How the media represents each country, which maybe influences our ideas of the people in the other countries?

New Zealand and Australia, although very similar, would never unite under one flag. They are very similar to those looking in, but to each of them, their individual cultural identity is important.

Also, just because a land mass flies under one common flag does not make the population of that country homogenous or happy to be living next to each other. Cultural identity is much more complex than that. Look at the vastness of Indonesia.

Liking other groups of people doesn’t always mean that it is from a shared culture. I have known many people to find cultures other than their own more appealing or they find aspects of another culture they admire, even if they are not similar to what they grew up with at all.

The EU is an economic and trade alliance more than anything. North America has a trade agreement in place as well, as does Australia and New Zealand. There are advantages to trade agreements, but that doesn’t mean that the cultures are going to homogenize and cultural identities and languages fade into a combined greyness.

I live in Europe, but outside the EU. Not every country in the EU has adopted the Euro, remember. It may seem strange to many people, but Norway has not and will not join the EU. It is a complicated economic issue as well as the regulatory issues it brings. It has nothing to do with shared cultures or languages or how well we like our neighbors.

People tend to like & identify with other people who are like themselves, and people tend to distrust people who are not like themselves. Not the best way to be, of course, but it is human nature.

In the EU we have on culture, there are some differencies in traditions (the day giving gifts for christmas, eating, structure of a day)... but it is all the same… when you travel around you will see that. So the english (the scottish are very much more open to the EU) do not have to be afraid about that. It will be still England. I think, without more integration to the EU The UK will lose very much of its influence and economic power.
Look to the US: The people from Maine are different to the ones in California… not talking about the hawi’ians… and it is functioning like one Country with different states. And they chieved it throughout more than 100 years with civil war and fights… we are working on our Union for about 50 yeras… and only negociating. I am sure that there will the United States of Europe… the European Union with its member states with their different kinds of living.

@ml3269
No sharing the same language is a whole cultural barrier. Not being able to watch the same TV shows, Movies, many books and newspapers so not being able to keep up with their politics and many events in their country.

I’m not saying we share nothing as we.

I’m not actually talking about there countries joining I’m talking about people’s opinions on these issues.

Nations and groups in general tend to exaggerate their differences. I think that people in industrialized nations have quite a lot in common. Translations of books and movies help to bridge the language gap. It is also true that it is not unusual for people in Europe to speak two or three different languages.

Differences within nations are greater than differences between nations. Liberals and conservatives in one nation have more in common with their counterparts in other nations than they do with each other.

The EU has always seemed like a bad idea to me. Melding in now just sounds catastrophic.

@inunsure: Well… could be… but right now and even more in the future the people speaks and will speak english in the EU… and I find it nice to hear every 300–1000km another language…
@Nullo: Could be… but in these days and in the future, no one in Europe can survive on his own… I am absolutely european and was it before. I am glad we have it… our european Nation (and yes… i call it so… this will be the normality within 50 years).
I can not see any difference regarding to call a place “home” (= belonging to ‘my country’) between Barcelona, Düsseldorf or Amsterdam… they are all familiar and they are within my country.
Where can I draw the frontierline? Being german between München and Wien? For me, this is ridicolous.

@LostInParadise: And there is a cut in european societies: Between people speaking different languages and those who are not able to do that.
And for the translation: The “californication” of all our culture in every european region comes from Hollywood (films and TV-Shows).. all of us know in our languages The Simpsons, Star Trek, The Hang Over and even great stuff from here like Monty Python form Engalnd.
In german there is in the every day language hundreds of words coming form the new english and the us: Download, Flatrate, Computer, Laptop, Account, Posting, Intercity (trains)... etc…

@ml3269 the is true about the watering down of languages, but some cultures work harder than Germany to keep their languages. France has a pretty strict Ministry of Language and so does Iceland where they try to ensure English words aren´t creeping into the cultural language. Of course, what a nation can call their ‘language’ does not change the fact that the language used on the street day to day doesn’t change. There was a recent case in France where a rapper/songwriter was making music in the common language of the streets of Toulouse, which has been influenced not just by English, but by Arabic and North African languages. This brought this artist much ire and distain by the Minister and there was private and public debate on the matter.

I think the EU is a very good idea for those countries that are trading a great deal anyway and travelling and working together as one. Basic standardisation has been a HUGE improvement on just the practical day to day life of citizens. In Norway, we are meant to have adopted the trading guidelines (although, in my experience, it isn’t governed as strictly) as far as the production of goods is concerned. Norway is involved in more standardized healthcare throughout Europe by helping create standards of training and certification. (this does kind of suck, still, because I know of professionals from other countries that are denied access to work here in Norway, so recognition of qualifications here in Norway still seems long winded and arbitrary.)

We are in the EU trading group called ‘Schengen’. One of the main reasons Norway has not joined the EU is because our economy and standard of living is very different from that of Poland or Greece and our economy is based on pretty much one thing; oil. We also have a very generous welfare state. Norwegians want to have full control over what goes on within it’s borders, who they allow to live here and how they spend their money. Adding another layer of bureaucracy led by countries with less wealth is never going to be in the interest of Norway.

That being said, if Norway decided to trade their oil in Euros, I would fully support that. It would be a very VERY big boost to the EU and something Norway could do without exposing themselves too badly. I say this now, because of the oil is currently traded, of course, in US dollars and both currencies, while limping horribly now, I think the Euro can come out of this stronger and more stable. If Norway traded oil in Euro, I don’t think the other OPEC countries would be far behind.

@cazzie, you’re right…, but I think there is a good reason to see Europe not only economically and not seeing only the regional interests: for example Germany (where I come from) or Spain (where I pay my taxes) – I think to establish a Union, a federal republic of Europe, we must give up to think in regional interests… and if Greece and Bulgaria cost money to help them getting up economically… it is a real good and needful investment for all the Union. And yes, we all pay for that… and the large companys earn… I know… but for me this is the only way… To compare it with the US: California or New York are economically different to Alabama… (not sure, just writing it)... and they are together, too… or even more and old-regional: In Germany Bavaria is rich, Bremen and Berlin like ‘Bundesländer’ poor… and Bavaria is paying in a federal pool to financiate them… same happens in Spain with Andalucia or Extremadura and Catalunya… we have to quit our regional thinking.
Nobody in Germany was concerned about paying a BANK (!) 8.000.000.000 € – but for Europe all is too much…
The EU should invest more in publicity and understatement.

This thread wasn’t suppose to be about should countries join but does culture have a big effect on people thinking we should :(

@inunsure I think your main question was not clear. What exactly do you mean by culture. Pop culture/media? Or, the culture/ethnicity within the countries?

@ml3269 Overall I agree with you, I am American living in America, but just know that the states that tend to be the biggest financial burden on the federal government tend to be the ones who complain the most about government, an annoying irony. I have no idea if there is now some sort of EU tax that all citizens pay into from all the EU countries, is there? Anyway, I think the bigger the EU is the more power it will have, as I stated above, and probably that is a positive for Europe in the long run.

@JLeslie
All of it obviously

@inunsure I guess it was not obvious, because you were not happy with the answers. You could try asking in a different way in a couple of weeks.