I'm not afraid about the new coin, but of the new tongue

About Brexit, I would tell you a story.

When we started the change-over euro, I was Local Organization responsible for my Bank in the northern area of Sardinia.

Then we had to distribute the famous 25 Euro-kit to all the customers, in order to start the duality, in the way that people could take again – or for the first time – confidence with the cents and the fixed rate of 1936,27 Liras.

Once, I met a so sweet grandmother that was changing the 25€ kit in order to make a present to her nephew, (it was a standard at that time), and she was a kind of "bit afraid" for this huge change in the History.

So I asked her: Madam, what’s wrong with Euro?

She answered me: Sir, I’m not afraid about the money, we had already cents with Liras years ago. What really worries me is the new tongue i have to learn. I'm too old for this, i would never succeed! She was really about crying.

I wondered: the new tongue? Madam, we do not have to learn a new “European” language, I said.
She was very happy for this news. She smiled me like a baby with shining eyes in front of an ice cream.

This for me was emblematic, and I always think to this story because this is the root of the vision that the old lady had, and that was the right vision. Into her intimacy, it was normal that a new Country, with a new currency should have had a new language.

Identity. Through a language.

Now, for sure it wouldn’t have been possible to learn a new language, “Esperanto” failure memories tells that. But it tells us a huge truth: what probably missed Europe was the creation of a common strong European  identity.

A common place where all Europeans could have recognized themselves as citizen of a country. Not only economy, finance, commerce, but identity of people.

To help Europe to survive, we must go “Back to Basics”.

We must go back to the founding values, starting from European Constitution, the original purposes, and restart from that.

This time, restarting from the people.

To create the real European Union.