I disagree with your penultimate paragraph because I see Europe - with its admitted problems - as a mostly well-intentioned effort by national governments to work together in a fairly loose framework, rather than a central government, or something aspiring to be one. (The treatment of Greece last year gave me some pause on that.)

However, I not only agree with everything else you said, but think you've done an excellent job of expressing something important clearly and simply.

I particularly agree with your final paragraph and the desirability of voting - whichever way you choose - for positive reasons. The success of everyone's personal opinions will go through ups and downs, but overall I think the world will be a better place if people try to make it so, rather than trying to prevent it getting worse. They may sound like the same thing, but I think there's a surprisingly big difference between the positive and negative approach.

P.S. Good to see you today!