Rediscovering the European cultural identity

[Lutiferre]

I realize this question and consideration may not be the same for all European countries, for some countries it might be relevant, for others maybe less or in another way. Especially those less "developed" (and with this I do not imply inferiority - quite the opposite), those less degressed into modernity and all its connotations, and those in a state of conflict or war, where nationalist movements and ethnic awareness is typically high. Its relevance is highly related to the level of modern urbanization, so the lesser relevance is typically true of those countries where this modernization is not as advanced.

If a nationalist movement, or just tendency and viewpoint among the people of any European nation where these considerations are relevant, was to predominate in society - and this people thus was to rediscover their cultural roots and identity, what would the realistically resulting culture become?

I can speak for myself first and foremost - there is no Danish culture without the extreme influence of foreign cultures ever since the beginning of the 20th century, increasing especially post-war, leading up to an irreversible state of cultural mixture today. There is no logic in assuming that returning to Danish cultural roots is realistic - it would be artificial and obviously not a natural approach, because it is too much of a difficulty for a whole society to collectively choose to go backwards in time, when the current spirit is completely another due to everything thats happened to the last couple of generations. What was considered Danish a few hundred years ago is now lost. I say this with utter dissatisfaction due to the quality of our replacement, but it is something that is necessary to admit. Cultural transgression and change is acceptable, unless it leads to cultural death as now.

I am not saying there is nothing Danish, or that all culture in the country is lost. There is a remnant of what was once Danish - but it is just a cultural imprint that pertains only minimally to the current quasi-cultural mixture of the anarcho-cultural destiny of modernity. We are too far into cultural plurality, anarchy and decadence - and what people call modernity - to ever as a unified people naturally return to the old fashioned Danish culture that was so quickly riddened from our souls over the course of a century, even though factors that would cause it to happen ultimately emerged much earlier.

Call me a cultural pessimist, but things are bad, and therefore I feel I am only acknowledging reality.

The only reason I am using this example is because what I can best understand is what I experience first hand, therefore I apply my own experiences to general trends I hear and see from other European countries (but not all, for the reasons I already mentioned).

So while you may not all be interested in the cultural mispath of Denmark, I wanted to share my consideration for any value it has to your reflections about your own country, or trends in certain European countries as a whole.

(By the way - this category (Atrium - talk about nothing much) is probably bad, but there is no section for deeper considerations/philosophy about contemporary culture)

[Routasydän]

Well I think that each national culture has a kind of a "spirit" or "persuasion", which is not set in stone but is rather a collection of certain values, which can be harnessed and adapted in any age, taking different forms expression depending on time & place.

[Marcus Marulus]

Originally Posted by Lutiferre

Call me a cultural pessimist, but things are bad, and therefore I feel I am only acknowledging reality.

In the past phenomena like renaissances did occur, so not everything is lost.