European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

IS THE EUROPEAN MODEL BEING REJECTED? REPERCUSSIONS IN THE FIELD ... 123justice are our greatest goods» 3 and, at the same time, we lookat immigrants and individuals from other cultures with suspicion.—We strive to achieve political unity and social convergence butwe have constant negative reactions from groups and nationswhich do not feel that their identity is being acknowledged andrespected.I could continue but there is no need. Each and everyone of us canadd, from their own perceptions and sensitivities, more items from thelist of paradoxes that we carry within ourselves and within thestructures we belong to.Identity and identities«In the age of globalization, with its accelerated and vertiginousprocess of mixture and amalgam that surrounds us all, it is necessary—and urgent!—to come up with a new concept of identity. Wecannot just compel thousands of millions of disconcerted people tochoose between out-and-out defence of their identity and itscomplete loss, between fundamentalism and disintegration. (...) Ifour contemporaries are not encouraged to assume their multiplesfeelings of belonging, if they cannot combine their need to own anidentity with an open attitude, (...) if they feel obliged to choosebetween denying themselves and denying others, we will be creatinglegions of disorientated beings.» Amin Maalouf 4 .Very often it is said our identity must be examined in detail. It wouldbe good to clarify what we mean by this. I believe that if by saying sowe mean embarking on a journey of social and personal introspection,searching in the past for our deepest and truest initial identity, we runthe risk of stressing what distinguishes and separates us from the rest.Our conception of identity can become rather fixed and unchangeable.If our aim is to build our identity, a future-oriented intention ofpermanent development and inclusion of what is new and different isemphasised, searching for the areas in which we can share identityfeatures with individuals, groups and societies that acknowledge anidentity different from ours.Both approaches have pros and cons. Nothing can be built if thereare no bases, no foundations, no roots. The reason for roots is to enablethe tree to grow and foundations are laid so that houses can be built.3Idem.4Maalouf, A. (1999) Identidades asesinas. Alianza Editorial.