MichelleThe dividing line in Switzerland
February 25th 2008 23:48
It’s been a while.
Even though the blog’s been quiet, I’ve been active and reading the mail from readers, I know that you’ve been beating a path through life too, sometimes with a machete and other times with a smile.
For over a month I went back into the psyche and lifestyle of a traveller. I did it cautiously but also with the intention to relieve myself of a certain weight and to live again the duality of the Brave Traveller. Sometimes you forget what it’s like to be that ‘other’ person and I quickly found the state of truth that every traveller finds, that place we all land in that smells something of lime and freedom but with the forecast of dissatisfaction, an ill wind that tastes of metal and clanks like chains.
‘We careened through the night, drunk on love and hate and pure, sweet air. The lights meant nothing to me. They just blinked. They just blinked and I laughed because it was the thing to do.’ (Holding in)
The impact of this Switzerland, divided into its four language groups and differing cultures can be seen clearly in its politics. Everyone knows that Switzerland is inherently 'neutral' and that this neutrality has lent Switzerland opportunities to flourish in banking, for example, in the pre-WWI era. More recently, however, Swiss conservatism has stretched to new challenges. Europe is undergoing a radical shift and in its battle to consolidate and unify as a continent, Switzerland's internal divide has proved a formidable foe against unification.
In 1992 the Swiss were given the choice to join the European Economic Area. The majority rejected this proposal. The dividing line, not surprisingly, followed the border between the German and French speaking areas. The Germans said no. The French were in favour.
Even though the blog’s been quiet, I’ve been active and reading the mail from readers, I know that you’ve been beating a path through life too, sometimes with a machete and other times with a smile.
Neutral Switzerland
For over a month I went back into the psyche and lifestyle of a traveller. I did it cautiously but also with the intention to relieve myself of a certain weight and to live again the duality of the Brave Traveller. Sometimes you forget what it’s like to be that ‘other’ person and I quickly found the state of truth that every traveller finds, that place we all land in that smells something of lime and freedom but with the forecast of dissatisfaction, an ill wind that tastes of metal and clanks like chains.
‘We careened through the night, drunk on love and hate and pure, sweet air. The lights meant nothing to me. They just blinked. They just blinked and I laughed because it was the thing to do.’ (Holding in)
The impact of this Switzerland, divided into its four language groups and differing cultures can be seen clearly in its politics. Everyone knows that Switzerland is inherently 'neutral' and that this neutrality has lent Switzerland opportunities to flourish in banking, for example, in the pre-WWI era. More recently, however, Swiss conservatism has stretched to new challenges. Europe is undergoing a radical shift and in its battle to consolidate and unify as a continent, Switzerland's internal divide has proved a formidable foe against unification.
In 1992 the Swiss were given the choice to join the European Economic Area. The majority rejected this proposal. The dividing line, not surprisingly, followed the border between the German and French speaking areas. The Germans said no. The French were in favour.
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