The United Kingdom; The European Union; NATO: which is the primary sense of identity?

[Franconicus]

Seamus,

an excellent question, or rather a set of excellent questions.

My identity, well, that's me, Franconicus. I can hardly understand men feeling themselves as English, German or whatsever.
My home is my family, esp. my children.

Of course I have a culture, I come from, I have a mother tongue, and it would be stupid to ignore this.
Anyway, I certainly do not feel as a Bavarian, rather German, in the end most of all as European. What is the European identity. Just look at the common history. From Greek philosophers, Roman law and language, Christian faith to modern times - Enlightment - Democracy - Liberalism and all that stuff. There is a line from Socrates, including men like Seneca, Montesquieu, Hobbes, Morris, Kant, Marx etc.

The European Union is not perfect and the fundament is getting smaller since all the eastern countries entered the union, I think, but it would be foolish to think that anything could get better without the EU. The English will soon see that they are trying to drive on the wrong side of history.