2 Españas?

I´ve been talking to a lot of people about the history of spain, spanish culture and more particularly, the way in which the history of spain has affected the culture and political climate of the country. One of the things that I have found to be most interesting is the way in which different people see history in different ways. I know that sounds really trite and obvious, but it´s strange for me to observe because I am not a member of this society. And so it allows me to stop and reflect on how we as people create stories of our past and our lives to justify our personalities, our political and social persuasions etc.

Specifically, I´ve been running into this idea of the ¨Dos Españas¨very much in my Civilization and Culture class. It´s something that the professor has really pounded into our heads, the ¨fact¨ that spain is divided mainly into two parts, and has been divided in these two parts since the civil war. We watched a documentary the other day about the effect of the civil war and Franco´s reign on the culture of spain, how there is just so much hate between both sides that seems to still exist today. He tells us that it is the hateful struggle between the right wing and the left wing that divides spain, and has divided spain, and always will divide spain. This seemed to make sense to me-- as a part of the minority liberals in the US, I could really understand why there would have to be opposing political sides. It´s like if there isn´t opposition, then you aren´t getting the whole picture. And so I just sort of swallowed what the professor told me, that the whole ¨dos españas¨concept is correct and is spurred from the division of spain during the civil war.

But I was wrong. When I went back to my apartment and hinted to my host mom and host brother that we had covered the topic of the two spains in class, they got really upset. They weren´t upset at me, they were more upset at the fact that I had been presented this very one-sided, and to use their words (roughly translated of course) ¨backwards¨ view of history. They believe that the civil war is in the past and should be kept in the past. They brought up the opinion that the united states had a civil war too, but we have gotten over it. It´s in the past, and what makes the US such a strong country is that it has reunited and put the past where it belongs.My host mom told me about how some people on the left are trying to tie in the terrorism problems of today to the civil war. Apparently, when some of the families of those who were killed in the Madrid train bombings confronted the president about it, he told them (something like) ¨I too lost family members in the war.¨ My host family contends that his comment was completely irrelevent and disrespectful, that the civil war was one thing, and that the new political struggle is something else.

My civilization and culture professor wants me to write a paper about the hateful struggle between the ¨dos españas¨ and I intend to. But to me, what he believes to be a hateful struggle, I believe to be a normal occurance of a healthy democracy. We have a struggle between the right and the left wing in the united states. Sometimes the left comes out on top, other times the right. Sometimes radicals get into power (like right now) and sometimes centrists. And as much as I really don´t like conservatives, as much as I really think that social conservatives are ridiculous and uneducated, as much as I believe that economic conservatives are greedy and inhumane, the beauty of democracy is that without them, I wouldn´t have a clear idea of what I believe is right. You can´t have super conservative without having super liberal. I have begun to realize that the natural order of things balance eachother out. There is a distinction to be made between two opposing and hateful sides, and two opposing sides which balance eachother out. And from what I have observed (but I could be completely wrong here) is that any hatred that exists between the opposing sides is as common as the hatred that might exist between the north and the south in america (ie: there is tension, but real hatred is quite rare). And so I think the professor´s concept of ¨dos españas¨is false. It seems to me that the division of spain is not a social/political one based on the civil war. If there is a division, it simply is that some people still see ghosts of the past, while others consider it dead and gone.

All this should be taken with a grain of salt. I am in no way saying that I am correct. I really don´t know much about the history of spain, the culture and political climate. But that is why i am here-- to learn about it. I feel like I have a pretty interesting advantage to observe the social/political climate simply because I am an outsider, because I am like a clean slate and I enter it with no preconcieved notions, no biases towards one side or another.

All this talking about political and social conflicts has given me the rare opportunity to look back at all I have done in the US for political and social change. My political and economic self-concept has changed so drastically over the years, it´s hard to believe that I´ve actually become more conservative in my old age. I´ve spoken to a lot of communists and anarchists while i´ve been here. I never thought that I would be so uncomfortable talking to leftists. After thinking about it for a bit, I´ve come to the realization that extreme anything is not a good idea. Democracy is supposed to be for the people. And people are generally in the center about most things. Therefore, the ideal government should be one that is moderate, central political and listens to the people.

Also, I´ve realized that I really am very much a pragmatist. I think the best solutions are the most simple ones. It´s like, if you´re writing a paper in pencil, and you spell something wrong, you don´t have to throw away the whole sheet of paper. The better, more civilized thing to do would be to use the eraser and correct only the flaw. It´s like, to me, there is nothing inherently good about communism or bad about capitalism, for example. What decides whether or not a system is good is the people running the system-- the way in which the system is applied. And so, in my situation, I´ve come to acknowledge that I am from the US, a very high paced capitalist system which usually results in class warfare etc-- you´re either rich or you´re not. And so instead of me whining about the way things ¨should¨be or talking about what is ¨fair¨and ¨right¨ I would rather spend my time and energy finding a way to survive within the system that does not compromise my values. For example, I study psychology because I have a concern for other people. I could be studying psychiatry,(because it pays more) but it is not consistent with my beliefs about mental health and humanity.In short, I think there´s really no point in scrapping an entire system just because it is being run by greedy bastards right now. I´ve found myself trying to explain this to the extreme leftists. They just don´t get it. It´s like all they want to do is fight. I just want to live in peace.

When my host mom talks about the president of spain, her words sound so familiar because she is saying exactly what my friends and I say about the president of the us-- that he´s got his own agenda and is not listening to the voice of the people, but is rather listening to the voice of a loud and radical minority. It´s incredible that we can be two different countries, two different histories, two different cultures but still be struggling with the same problem, the problem being a footsoldier who wants a legitimate voice in the world.