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Mario wrote:

mrhappyface wrote:Mainland Europe has a very unified culture under the EU

That's just hilariously uniformed. The EU even regularly gives out money so some regions can restore their own cultural elements that would otherwise not be supported. They also support regional food specialities: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_indications_and_traditional_specialities_in_the_European_Union

The EU is working on unifying regulations so that all those different regions can work together more easily but there's no forced cultural homogenisation. People from the north and south of Germany alone would laugh at your idea of an unified EU culture.

Because individual cultures of countries doesn't mean that there isn't also an over-arching culture.

mrhappyface wrote:

jouso wrote:

 mrhappyface wrote:

 Da Boss wrote:
...but like, Britain is just undeniably a European country. It is in Europe. It's a very weird thing to say that you are not European when your country is obviously in Europe. I find it fascinating, this animosity and weird hostility.

Like DJones just said, it's not a matter of whether geographically we're European, it's whether we're culturally European. Mainland Europe has a very unified culture under the EU but Britain has always been an outsider to that culture.

There's nothing unified about individual countries in the EU.

A Pole, a Greek, a Finn and a Portuguese are as different from each other culturally as from a random Brit.

They have their language, their literature, pop music, customs, foods, festivities and everything else that makes up their identity different from each other.

Europe (as in EU) is a vehicle for convenience. There's nothing cultural about it other than hazy buzzwords around "European values" which if you scratch the blue paint on top are very much the same Western democratic values you can find in Australia or the US, with a little Euro flag on top

Are poles, Greeks, Finns and Portuguese that enthusiastic about a unified Europe? I know a Greek friend of mine says that they couldn't give a toss about European values, legislations, etc.

Individually you will find anything and everything. For the most part yes they do give a not always very enthusiastic toss.

Greece in particular seems to have an issue with regulations, though, European and otherwise.

mrhappyface wrote:

Mario wrote:

mrhappyface wrote:Mainland Europe has a very unified culture under the EU

That's just hilariously uniformed. The EU even regularly gives out money so some regions can restore their own cultural elements that would otherwise not be supported. They also support regional food specialities: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_indications_and_traditional_specialities_in_the_European_Union

The EU is working on unifying regulations so that all those different regions can work together more easily but there's no forced cultural homogenisation. People from the north and south of Germany alone would laugh at your idea of an unified EU culture.

Because individual cultures of countries doesn't mean that there isn't also an over-arching culture.

Care to define it?

A sense of continuity/deep history, going back at least to the Roman Empire, with strong regional identities that predate (and I would argue take precedence over) current nations.

Socialism with a small “s”, with welfare states and socialised healthcare and the view that government should restrain the excesses of the free market (very different to the US).

Embedded diversity from former imperial colonies (in Western Europe at least).

Shared artistic and architectural styles going forward from the Renaissance.

Football (the proper kind).

I agree with jouso, that there is no such thing as "european culture" (other than the most broadly defined "sum of everything that was made within geographical boundaries of European continent").

And I must say, that I'm REALLY surprised with some posters not being aware that there is hardly any uniformity between western european countries and post-soviet block countries. Or that there is still very clearly visible split between historically catholic and protestant european countries. This continent has a 2k years long history of differences between countries and nations that didn't simply vanished after EU was founded.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Jadenim wrote:
A sense of continuity/deep history, going back at least to the Roman Empire, with strong regional identities that predate (and I would argue take precedence over) current nations.

If you can call a history of conflicts a common culture... Take Napoleonic wars as an example - Napoleon is regarded as a savior not a tyrant or agressor in Poland, because we briefly ended up with a sovereign state of Księstwo Warszawskie as a result of those wars. Those differences cannot be simply called "regional identities" within larger Europe, because for the better part of this 2k+ year long history the known world was pretty much Europe and middle east only, with china and japan being tightly shut to almost any cross influence and americas not even discovered yet...

Socialism with a small “s”, with welfare states and socialised healthcare and the view that government should restrain the excesses of the free market (very different to the US).

While this is seemingly true, there is a huge difference between east and west here, as most post-soviet countries see this "small s" as dangerously close to fully blown capital "C"... Especially with a lot of arbitrary actions from EU comissars in recent years.

Embedded diversity from former imperial colonies (in Western Europe at least).

You cannot call something that splits the continent in two nearly equal halves "a common culture". And even counting in similarities between "cultural diversity" of times like The First Polish Republic and Pax Britannia this "resulting embedded diversity" differs greatly between countries, so again, it is too weak to be anything of true common value.

Shared artistic and architectural styles going forward from the Renaissance.

Except again, few huge splits in following times, the most recent being Cold War and Iron Courtain...

Football (the proper kind).

Not after Polish National Team just killed all of the enthusiasm for this sport in Poland not more than a week ago

 Jadenim wrote:
A sense of continuity/deep history, going back at least to the Roman Empire, with strong regional identities that predate (and I would argue take precedence over) current nations.

Socialism with a small “s”, with welfare states and socialised healthcare and the view that government should restrain the excesses of the free market (very different to the US).

Embedded diversity from former imperial colonies (in Western Europe at least).

Shared artistic and architectural styles going forward from the Renaissance.

Football (the proper kind).

Large parts of Europe never were part of the Roman Empire. Virtually all countries have strong regional identities, not just European ones. Not all European countries have adopted socialist welfare states, and many of them definitely went for Socialism with a capital S. The vast majority of European countries have never had colonies, and architectural styles vary massively even in the present day. And even football is not the number 1 sport in every country (Russia and Finland have ice hockey for example).
The different cultural groups within Europe (Northern, Southern and Eastern) don't actually have all that much in common. Still, while there is lots of things dividing different European cultures, there is also undeniably some sort of shared European identity. Although beyond a shared religion and history it is difficult to say where that comes from. I wonder, do other continents have something similar? Is there a some kind of South American identity? An Asian identity? An African identity?
If no, then my guess is that the European identity is probably the result of the small size of the European continent. Europe has a huge amount of different peoples and countries jammed into a very small space. I think that results into a lot of shared history and therefore shared identities.

I would rather call European history "an interwoven clusterfeth" than "shared experience"

I think the only thing you can posit as a shared European identity, is that we've fought each other a lot and at the moment the majority of us would rather not do it again, but then hooray for ill informed nationalists who would rather be isolationists than work with (insert national equivalent of Johnny Foreigner).

 Mozzyfuzzy wrote:
I think the only thing you can posit as a shared European identity, is that we've fought each other a lot and at the moment the majority of us would rather not do it again, but then hooray for ill informed nationalists who would rather be isolationists than work with (insert national equivalent of Johnny Foreigner).

True, we have all bled enough already, but we do still fight each other a lot, just not using open warfare but subtleties of economics and politics.

 mrhappyface wrote:

 Da Boss wrote:
...but like, Britain is just undeniably a European country. It is in Europe. It's a very weird thing to say that you are not European when your country is obviously in Europe. I find it fascinating, this animosity and weird hostility.

Like DJones just said, it's not a matter of whether geographically we're European, it's whether we're culturally European. Mainland Europe has a very unified culture under the EU but Britain has always been an outsider to that culture.

Mind you, I still feel like we're closer to European culture than to American, despite what some other posters feel. You just need to look at some of the conversations between British and American posters in this forum to see that.

I can't say I feel European at all. There's no hostility or animosity at all, I just don't feel connected. I'm reasonably well traveled and I love every time I visit Europe and absorb the art, culture and history but it doesn't feel like it's something I'm a part of or an inheritor to.

The same could be said for my British and Scottish identities so I'm struggling all over haha.

 AndrewGPaul wrote:

 mrhappyface wrote:

 Da Boss wrote:
...but like, Britain is just undeniably a European country. It is in Europe. It's a very weird thing to say that you are not European when your country is obviously in Europe. I find it fascinating, this animosity and weird hostility.

Like DJones just said, it's not a matter of whether geographically we're European, it's whether we're culturally European. Mainland Europe has a very unified culture under the EU but Britain has always been an outsider to that culture.

Mind you, I still feel like we're closer to European culture than to American, despite what some other posters feel. You just need to look at some of the conversations between British and American posters in this forum to see that.

I’d be very interested in seeing statistics from the studies I’m sure will have been conducted into people’s experiences of arriving (to live, not as tourists) in new countries, but anecdotally I certainly see this supported. Amongst friends who’ve moved from the UK to Europe or the US (or both) far more express feeling out of place in the latter. It’s a common thing amongst students doing a year abroad, too, in my experience. I think often people from the UK expect to feel entirely comfortable living in the US because of their familiarity with US media, but find the reality to be very different. Most of Europe on the other hand, languages aside, they slot into much more easily.

nfe wrote:

 AndrewGPaul wrote:

 mrhappyface wrote:

 Da Boss wrote:
...but like, Britain is just undeniably a European country. It is in Europe. It's a very weird thing to say that you are not European when your country is obviously in Europe. I find it fascinating, this animosity and weird hostility.

Like DJones just said, it's not a matter of whether geographically we're European, it's whether we're culturally European. Mainland Europe has a very unified culture under the EU but Britain has always been an outsider to that culture.

Mind you, I still feel like we're closer to European culture than to American, despite what some other posters feel. You just need to look at some of the conversations between British and American posters in this forum to see that.

I’d be very interested in seeing statistics from the studies I’m sure will have been conducted into people’s experiences of arriving (to live, not as tourists) in new countries, but anecdotally I certainly see this supported. Amongst friends who’ve moved from the UK to Europe or the US (or both) far more express feeling out of place in the latter. It’s a common thing amongst students doing a year abroad, too, in my experience. I think often people from the UK expect to feel entirely comfortable living in the US because of their familiarity with US media, but find the reality to be very different. Most of Europe on the other hand, languages aside, they slot into much more easily.

I can attest to that, I spent 2 years stationed in Nevada, the Yanks were... an odd bunch, language, humour, politeness etc. were all different to how we do things over here, where as in Germany .. they seemed like brits with a funny accent, whoever says the Germans dont have a sense of humour has never met one!

I consider myself British. I was born and raised in London (and still live here) but neither of parents were British (though are now) and have never considered myself English, but certainly British (and a Londoner of course...)

As to feeling European, the answer has to be no. Whilst Britain is very much part of the continent of Europe in no way do I feel European per se.

However... Western europe and scandanavia in particular both feel very similar to the UK wherever I've traveled around those parts, whilst the USA felt very odd, and completely different when I went there, and I feel so much more at home in mainland Europe than I do anywhere else in the world except for maybe New Zealand.

I don't really feel English, British, European or anything really.

I don't think any of what I think makes me truly me can be defined by being a part of a geographical location and so where I was born or where I am doesn't really come into what I consider my identity.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Formosa wrote:

I can attest to that, I spent 2 years stationed in Nevada, the Yanks were... an odd bunch, language, humour, politeness etc. were all different to how we do things over here, where as in Germany .. they seemed like brits with a funny accent, whoever says the Germans dont have a sense of humour has never met one!

Something that has stuck in my mind was a TV show about people opposing the far right in Germany, where they showed a march of people lampooning nazi iconography (nazi flag but had fruit instead of swastika if I remember correctly). Anyway, they were interviewing the leader of the march and in the background of the shot there was one of the marchers, in full nazi-esque style uniform with a side parting of blonde hair. Some of his hair fell out of place and, with absolutely no change in expression or even eye movement, he whipped a comb out of his breast pocket, combed the hair back in place and then put the comb back. The movements were so practiced and precise. It was a perfect parody of the Nazi obsession with order and perfect movement exhibited in the Nazi rallies and propaganda films.

That level of self awareness and perfect satire is closer to what is regarded as "British humour" than anything I have seen produced anywhere but the UK.

Yep I love the dead pan German humour, same with the belgiums, funny bunch, certain parts of the states I went to had a very British humour too, it always makes me laugh when I hear an American use a British slang term though it just doesn’t sound ... right?

nou wrote:
I would rather call European history "an interwoven clusterfeth" than "shared experience"

Hey, I didn't say it was a positive experience

I haven't read all the replies to this thread ... on purpose (I saw some gak about brexit and stopped!)

Although I'm British according to my passport, I've only lived here as an adult less than two years ...

2005 to 2016 = Japan
1993 to 2005 = Germany
From 1982 to 1993 = All over the fething place ... wherever I was sent

Yeah, I feel European ... but with a definite preference for far-east asia.

mrhappyface wrote:

Mario wrote:

mrhappyface wrote:Mainland Europe has a very unified culture under the EU

That's just hilariously uniformed. The EU even regularly gives out money so some regions can restore their own cultural elements that would otherwise not be supported. They also support regional food specialities: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_indications_and_traditional_specialities_in_the_European_Union

The EU is working on unifying regulations so that all those different regions can work together more easily but there's no forced cultural homogenisation. People from the north and south of Germany alone would laugh at your idea of an unified EU culture.

Because individual cultures of countries doesn't mean that there isn't also an over-arching culture.

That over-arching culture was more or less everybody picking a fight with everybody else over all kinds of issues and that's about it. Same as on your little island over there. See, we're all the same in a way and have quite a bit in common

Sure people who live near a border have some similarities with the people on the other side of that border but it just can't work like that for islands as your neighbours in those cases are often aquatic and don't talk too much.

So, yes I feel European. But that is because we grew up, here in Germany, with a denial of a real German feeling during the 70th and 80th, because of the WWII thing.
I dislike the politics of the EU, but the concept of moving closer in continental Europe to prevent further war is very fundamental for me. So things like student exchanges and work experiences
abroad or working in another EU country is very important.
On the other hand as a economical power compared to the US or China only a united Europe can really compete . As single countries, not even France or Germany, would be up to the competition with the US or China. This is important for all Countries in the EU, I think, as the aim has to be to keep jobs and welfare at least on a level we have now.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
I don't really feel English, British, European or anything really.

I don't think any of what I think makes me truly me can be defined by being a part of a geographical location and so where I was born or where I am doesn't really come into what I consider my identity.

Hmm. TBH I used to think exactly this way, as what you might describe as an old-school "workers unite" Labour internationalist, but while it's daft to really define yourself by the geographical accident of birth, when I sat down to really think about this kind of thing during the runup to the independence referendum when I was deciding what position to take, it became pretty hard to deny how much we're shaped by that accident. Just because you're not a flag-worshipping blood & soil capital-N Nationalist marching about in whatever your local equivalent of a kilt is all the time, doesn't mean the identity by which you define yourself wasn't influenced and in some ways molded by the places where you've spent the most time.

I suppose the nearest I have come to feeling European is during the Ryder Cup

ordoteutonicus wrote:
So, yes I feel European. But that is because we grew up, here in Germany, with a denial of a real German feeling during the 70th and 80th, because of the WWII thing.
I dislike the politics of the EU, but the concept of moving closer in continental Europe to prevent further war is very fundamental for me. So things like student exchanges and work experiences
abroad or working in another EU country is very important.
On the other hand as a economical power compared to the US or China only a united Europe can really compete . As single countries, not even France or Germany, would be up to the competition with the US or China. This is important for all Countries in the EU, I think, as the aim has to be to keep jobs and welfare at least on a level we have now.

Whenever someone asks something like the OP did, I'm just going to link at this post.

jouso wrote:

mrhappyface wrote:

jouso wrote:

 mrhappyface wrote:

 Da Boss wrote:
...but like, Britain is just undeniably a European country. It is in Europe. It's a very weird thing to say that you are not European when your country is obviously in Europe. I find it fascinating, this animosity and weird hostility.

Like DJones just said, it's not a matter of whether geographically we're European, it's whether we're culturally European. Mainland Europe has a very unified culture under the EU but Britain has always been an outsider to that culture.

There's nothing unified about individual countries in the EU.

A Pole, a Greek, a Finn and a Portuguese are as different from each other culturally as from a random Brit.

They have their language, their literature, pop music, customs, foods, festivities and everything else that makes up their identity different from each other.

Europe (as in EU) is a vehicle for convenience. There's nothing cultural about it other than hazy buzzwords around "European values" which if you scratch the blue paint on top are very much the same Western democratic values you can find in Australia or the US, with a little Euro flag on top

Are poles, Greeks, Finns and Portuguese that enthusiastic about a unified Europe? I know a Greek friend of mine says that they couldn't give a toss about European values, legislations, etc.

Individually you will find anything and everything. For the most part yes they do give a not always very enthusiastic toss.

Greece in particular seems to have an issue with regulations, though, European and otherwise.

Well, the general feeling here in Greece is that the EU didn't really stand up for us in the time of need. They saved their banks and screwed everyone over, our economy still struggling 10 years after the economic crisis of 2008. Wes still need a debt cut? Seriously? *facepalm*
Banks have been saved, our GDP still horrible and taxes are intolerable. Taxes which many people do pay unlike what the international propaganda says about us.
The general feeling here is that Greece should have paid a price for bad economic practices in the past but we have heavily overpaid it. That doesn't mean that the concept of Europa is wrong however, it's how people choose to implement it that causes the issues.

jouso wrote:

ordoteutonicus wrote:
So, yes I feel European. But that is because we grew up, here in Germany, with a denial of a real German feeling during the 70th and 80th, because of the WWII thing.
I dislike the politics of the EU, but the concept of moving closer in continental Europe to prevent further war is very fundamental for me. So things like student exchanges and work experiences
abroad or working in another EU country is very important.
On the other hand as a economical power compared to the US or China only a united Europe can really compete . As single countries, not even France or Germany, would be up to the competition with the US or China. This is important for all Countries in the EU, I think, as the aim has to be to keep jobs and welfare at least on a level we have now.

Whenever someone asks something like the OP did, I'm just going to link at this post.

+1

As Greeks we were brought up being very proud of our country and what our ancestors have given the world (and thus Europe as well). That is the past however.
Only a Union will deny fragility and augment prospect, that's why I think the EU is not only a good but a very good idea and should be supported.

Not really, no. People here often talk if 'Europe' is an overseas continent, which it kinda is.

 Yodhrin wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
I don't really feel English, British, European or anything really.

I don't think any of what I think makes me truly me can be defined by being a part of a geographical location and so where I was born or where I am doesn't really come into what I consider my identity.

Hmm. TBH I used to think exactly this way, as what you might describe as an old-school "workers unite" Labour internationalist, but while it's daft to really define yourself by the geographical accident of birth, when I sat down to really think about this kind of thing during the runup to the independence referendum when I was deciding what position to take, it became pretty hard to deny how much we're shaped by that accident. Just because you're not a flag-worshipping blood & soil capital-N Nationalist marching about in whatever your local equivalent of a kilt is all the time, doesn't mean the identity by which you define yourself wasn't influenced and in some ways molded by the places where you've spent the most time.

Unquestionably true, but there’s a gulf between recognising that you are shaped by your surroundings and the sociocultural norms of the individuals and societies you spend time amongst and identifying as being a member of a geopolitical entity in any sense beyond the legal.

nfe wrote:

 Yodhrin wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
I don't really feel English, British, European or anything really.

I don't think any of what I think makes me truly me can be defined by being a part of a geographical location and so where I was born or where I am doesn't really come into what I consider my identity.

Hmm. TBH I used to think exactly this way, as what you might describe as an old-school "workers unite" Labour internationalist, but while it's daft to really define yourself by the geographical accident of birth, when I sat down to really think about this kind of thing during the runup to the independence referendum when I was deciding what position to take, it became pretty hard to deny how much we're shaped by that accident. Just because you're not a flag-worshipping blood & soil capital-N Nationalist marching about in whatever your local equivalent of a kilt is all the time, doesn't mean the identity by which you define yourself wasn't influenced and in some ways molded by the places where you've spent the most time.

Unquestionably true, but there’s a gulf between recognising that you are shaped by your surroundings and the sociocultural norms of the individuals and societies you spend time amongst and identifying as being a member of a geopolitical entity in any sense beyond the legal.

For some people maybe, but not for most. I think most people identify with the place they were born/grew up to some degree.

 Iron_Captain wrote:

nfe wrote:

 Yodhrin wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
I don't really feel English, British, European or anything really.

I don't think any of what I think makes me truly me can be defined by being a part of a geographical location and so where I was born or where I am doesn't really come into what I consider my identity.

Hmm. TBH I used to think exactly this way, as what you might describe as an old-school "workers unite" Labour internationalist, but while it's daft to really define yourself by the geographical accident of birth, when I sat down to really think about this kind of thing during the runup to the independence referendum when I was deciding what position to take, it became pretty hard to deny how much we're shaped by that accident. Just because you're not a flag-worshipping blood & soil capital-N Nationalist marching about in whatever your local equivalent of a kilt is all the time, doesn't mean the identity by which you define yourself wasn't influenced and in some ways molded by the places where you've spent the most time.

Unquestionably true, but there’s a gulf between recognising that you are shaped by your surroundings and the sociocultural norms of the individuals and societies you spend time amongst and identifying as being a member of a geopolitical entity in any sense beyond the legal.

For some people maybe, but not for most. I think most people identify with the place they were born/grew up to some degree.

Definitely. I’m just saying that the two positions do not necesarily overlap.

I had the chance to stay in Salamanca, Spain, for a timespan of about three months some 10 years ago. I was there to study the spanish language, along with other young people from all around Europe and Asia.

I have found great friends there from Holland, Belgium, Hungary, Austria, Russia. With some of them I am still in contact from time to time.

Being out together, studying, eating and drinking together, I felt that we all had A LOT of common ground.
The same ideas of how a free society should look like, how to behave in private/public, just everything. Hell, I even agreed with them that "Cerveza Holandesa" from Carrefour was tasting better "Cerveza Aléman".
There was an Englishman too but we others didn't get along with him too good because he was a fething snob and kinda looking down on the other for no obvious reason. Well, except for himself being a dick.

I'm quite solidly English in terms of culture; albeit with a sprinkling of other ethnicities from my father's side. I apologise instinctively to people who walk into me, buy in my round, and believe very strongly believe that a good cup of tea is one of the best palliatives.

In terms of European culture...? I find it hard to pin down what that is. I mean, you couldn't exactly say it was a dedication to freedom of speech and democracy; looking at the history of most of Europe. The architectural styles are radically different between the Czech republic and Malta, the attitude to life very different between Portugal and Poland, and there's no real gastronomic commonalities shared between even four of those. Sure, if you compare one neighbour to another, you can pick up similarities; but the minute you move two or three countries over, the difference is quite striking in most regards.

I can't say I feel I have anything in common with a German that I don't a Brazilian. And I feel I have a lot more in common with Canadians than I do the Hungarians; despite the latter being attached to the same continental land mass as me. I probably have more in common with a Greek than I do a Mongolian, but that's not saying much. Compared to somebody from New Zealand, they're both strangers.

Upon reflection, I don't think a 'European' really exists for most people except as a geographic or political indicator. Sure, you get the fervent believers in 'Europe' declaring themselves 'European', but that's usually tied to the European Union as some sort of political declaration of self. I don't think it means much when it comes to culture or commonalities.

To me, 'Europe' is that bunch of countries over the river; in the same way America is that other country over the pond. They're other countries. I'm in my mine. I've really no reason to assimilate a 'European' identity, anymore than I do a 'Western' identity, or a 'Global' one.

I think that people who go to another country and find no difference between themselves and those they associate with, tend to not realise that class lends itself to a greater commonality of shared experience than anything else. Sure, if you're a uni student, hanging around with other uni students, you'll have a lot in common. Same if you're a tech worker travelling from London to Vienna; one IT office is much like another both in terms of the business and the people in it. If you're heading to Brussels to push paper, you'll find other EU penpushers have a broadly similar mindset and educational background. If you're going to China to teach a language, you'll have a lot in common with other Europeans who are doing the same thing, and those commonalities will increase as you all navigate the same hurdles.

But that's not so much being 'European' as it is a class and experience thing. Take a member of the Spanish royal family and dump them in a concrete tower block filled with working class people in an isolated Polish town? You'll see a lot less in the way of feelings of unity and brotherhood. Take a Scottish fisherman who's spent fifty years fighting the North Sea and drop him in polite society in Hungary? Same again.

I'm not saying that they'd have nothing whatsoever in common, but they'd have a lot less in the way of 'Brotherhood of man', 'we're all Europeans and the same' feelings than the original examples, I should think. Class and shared background/experience is far more of a social link between people than being 'European'.

 Ketara wrote:


I think that people who go to another country and find no difference between themselves and those they associate with, tend to not realise that class lends itself to a greater commonality of shared experience than anything else. Sure, if you're a uni student, hanging around with other uni students, you'll have a lot in common. Same if you're a tech worker travelling from London to Vienna; one IT office is much like another both in terms of the business and the people in it. If you're heading to Brussels to push paper, you'll find other EU penpushers have a broadly similar mindset and educational background. If you're going to China to teach a language, you'll have a lot in common with other Europeans who are doing the same thing, and those commonalities will increase as you all navigate the same hurdles.

That is a valid point. Class definitely plays into it. But still, I'd like to argue that a Brit and a German from the same class share more in common with each other than they do with an American of the same class, or a Moroccan or Korean. Sure, the Brit and American share a common language, but in terms of culture and political viewpoints they are likely to diverge much more widely than the German. Although you could throw in a Canadian and then it gets more confusing... But in the end, American and Canadian cultures are European cultures as well, aren't they? They may not be geographically located in Europe, but they were formed and shaped by people and cultures from all across Europe. So in a sense, the US is actually more European than any European country will ever be. With that in mind, there is definitely a common European culture that can be contrasted with African or Asian cultures.

 Ketara wrote:
Take a member of the Spanish royal family and dump them in a concrete tower block filled with working class people in an isolated Polish town? You'll see a lot less in the way of feelings of unity and brotherhood. Take a Scottish fisherman who's spent fifty years fighting the North Sea and drop him in polite society in Hungary? Same again.

I'd totally watch that show.