by Arnold Reinhold Langer
[cd] What does Europe mean to you? This is what we asked to several young people from all over the continent. In the upcoming months we will publish the answers and present the different views on Europe starting with Arnold (21) from the region of Silesia (Poland)
Europe is to me a place where I have been born, and where I am living now for 21 years. It is a continent which I try to discover all around. I have started few years ago, and I have seen so many places and so much different cultures: -the hard-working middle part; -the connected to the nature north; -the very positive and open minded south; -and the traditional east. But! The most beautiful aspect is, that in every corner of Europe I feel like at home.
As a Silesian I feel European too. I want to keep my Silesian traditions alive, but I also want to experience what other nations have in common. Our history is in my opinion the purpose, why I want to integrate with other people across this continent. We used to declare war against each other for over 1000 years. After this part of history, we realized, we can work together to increase the standard of life in our countries, without war of course. This is why the first European organizations began to work, and after 40 years they bounded together to make the European Union. If we want to achieve more and more success in the international politics, we need to stick together. Otherwise only few members of the EU, will be recognized as a strong country. Political and economic integration is necessary if we want to compare with USA, China etc.
Europe means a lot to me. I hope that we can still be a (almost) continent without borders, with lot of different cultures, which have the same roots. It’s also an opportunity for Silesia and Silesians, to finally not being a sub-region, but an equal subject in the political area of our continent.
Arnold Reinhold Langer is currently studying political science at the University of Silesia in Katowice.