The Spanish Civil War...and Being for Espain.

Recently, pondering the Spanish Civil War, I was able to finally understand the thought behind it. Of course, my viewpoint is entirely offensive, so I never actually tell it to any Spaniards, but I will to you, all three of you who read this thing:

The gist of it is that Spaniards were basically sick of fighting and losing wars for the last couple of centuries, so they decided that if they fought a war between themselves, they´d have to win. The sad tragedy is that they all lost, but man how they´ve rebounded with the constitutional monarchy.

Also, my friend, the Hoosier Lush´s mother is notorious for her proclamation: I am not for the monarchy; I am not for the fascists; I am not for the communists......I am for Espain.

This quote always seemed a little strange to me and my friends, but since arriving in this country, I´ve realized that it actually has a lot of depth to it. Spain, like America, has a federalist government, but unlike America, it´s states were once independent countries. They didn´t decide to join a union like the liberated colonies of North America. Instead, they were conquered by the Reyes Católicos, Isabel y Fernando. Even five hundred years later, the different regions or comunidades still hang onto their individual identities with an iron grip, and often reject the notion of a united Spain, seen through the Basque terrorists, Catalonian groaning, and Andalucian graffiti for Andalucia Libre. To put it into perspective, regional pride is a lot like Southern pride, in the sense that most of the comunidades feel that they were taken by force and not by will. Exacerbating the situation, of course, is the fact that many of these regions have their own languages, cultures, and histories, and like to reject the imposition of castellano on their tongues and minds. España, like America, is more of an idea than a single, unified nation. As such, the Mumma had a lot of insight with her comment. I feel the same way. I not for the Partido Popular or the PSOE. I am for Espain.