“After I vote, I look up into the sky and say a prayer that it will turn out alright,” says a Spaniard named Francisco Noviola. Despite the agony of our November 4 elections, it’s November 9 and here we are in Barcelona, Spain to observe another election — the referendum on independence from Spain that was taking place throughout the region of Catalonia, of which Barcelona is the capital. Noviola was one of the many voters I interviewed.

Although our American Dream of bringing people together from diverse backgrounds, religions and parts of the world has been largely successful, this model is not one that is followed in most of the world. The tendency is to break apart rather than to work together. The Catalonia/Spain independence issue is just one of many such situations. Here are several examples, some good, some bad:

Imagine how much more secure Iraq would be if it could split up and Kurds, Sunnis and Shia could live apart.

Look at Belgium with the split between French and Dutch speakers or Quebec separatism in Canada.

See the successful splitting of Czechoslovakia into the Czech and Slovak republics or the much bloodier breakup of Yugoslavia.

The breakup of the Soviet Union is still an unfinished issue as Russia seeks to claw back the Ukraine.

On a much more local level, consider the recent effort in Colorado whereby 10 counties wanted to “secede” and form a new state called North Colorado.

Although no one at our national level is talking about secession, look at how the increasing hostility between Republicans and Democrats has almost turned us into two warring countries.

This Catalan independence movement has been simmering for decades, even centuries. When we lived there, (1999-2004) we saw how many Catalans simply reject the idea that they are part of Spain. Take immigration, for example. When Catalans would ask us about the immigration debate in the U.S., they would always say that they too had immigration problems. So I would ask where their immigrants came from.

“Andalusia,” they would say.

“But that’s part of your country,” I would answer. “In the U.S. we wouldn’t say that someone who had moved to Colorado from New York, for example, was an immigrant.”

Then I would ask when these Andalusians had come to Catalonia.

“After the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s and 40s,” would be the answer. In other words, even though their children and grandchildren were born in Catalonia, these Andalusians were all still considered immigrants!

The issue has exploded now because of the financial crisis. Specifically, the Catalan government, deeply in debt because of the decline in property values as well as its excessive spending, believes that the Spanish central government collects too much in taxes and redistributes back to Catalonia too little. Catalans rightfully want the kind of state-level taxing powers that states in the U.S. have. If this could be accomplished, the independence movement would be largely defused. Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen because there isn’t the money; the central government is too dependent on tax revenues from Catalonia, its richest region to agree to any change that would reduce the revenue it receives.

The November 9 vote itself was simply advisory; actual secession would require a vote by all Spaniards, something that simply isn’t going to happen. Over the course of three days, I talked to cab drivers, waiters, friends who live in Barcelona as well as voters waiting in line like Noviola or his friend, Montlui who proudly claimed he could trace his Catalan roots back to the 13th century. The actual voting process was extremely impressive as people waited patiently and cheerfully in a light rain with their dogs and children. Of six million eligible voters, 2.3 million voted or about 37 percent and 81 percent of those voted for independence. Afterwards, both the separatists or “independistas” and the central government claimed victory, the separatists pointing to the 81 percent and the central government arguing that the low turnout made it meaningless.

No one knows what, if anything, will happen next but it’s time for everyone involved to move on to more pressing issues — the economy and endemic corruption.

Spain’s unemployment rate is 23.6 percent as compared to 10.4 percent in France, 5.15 percent in Germany, 12.6 percent in Italy and 5.8 percent in the U.S. Although this figure is somewhat exaggerated because so many people work “off the books” or for cash or barter, it is still excruciating, especially for young people. In fact, youth unemployment (ages 15-29) was 53.7 percent last September.

As for corruption, consider that Cristina, the sister of the King has been charged with tax fraud, Jordi Pujol, the “father” of Catalonia (He served as President for 23 years.) has just admitted to hiding money in Switzerland for the last 35 years, and Ana Mato, the Health Minister has just been forced to resign because of a kick-back scandal. The job approval rate of the Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy is only 21 percent, one half that of our beleaguered President, and a brand new political party, Podemos (We Can) has suddenly shot ahead of both major parties in the polls.

When you peel away the talk of nationalism, the basic issues are the same as ours — taxes, corruption, the economy and a lack of confidence in our leaders. It’s time to forget about breaking up and focus on those issues. And we should all follow the advice of Francisco Noviola — look up in the sky and say a prayer.

Morgan Smith is a former Colorado legislator and Commissioner of Agriculture. He is a frequent traveler who maintains a home in Barcelona. Reach him at Morgan-smith@comcast.net.