“The Romantic era was a reaction to the Age of Reason — but the ideals of today’s modern states are seldom expressed in terms of romanticism and emotion”.

I would suggest rather that the Romantic era was a reaction against the Enlightenment’s skepticism, exclusion of spirituality, and overemphasis on reason. See, for example, the brilliant book Natural Supernaturalism: Tradition and Revolution in Romantic Literature by M. H. Abrams.

It is perhaps for these reasons that we need to recapture the true spirit of Romanticism in order to move forward, since the Enlightenment, despite its original good points, has almost passed its sell-by date.