I have some things to get off my chest and what better way than howling into the abyss of the internet. This may be rambling and given to hyperbole, but its my blog and if I can't give in to loquacity here, where can I?
How did we get into this ridiculous situation?
How did we ever think that even flirting with the idea of extricating ourselves from an infrastructure built on cooperation and trust, nearly 60 years old, was going to be anything but disastrous?
I voted to "Remain" in the European Union in the 2016 Referendum.
I voted to Remain because, at the core of it, I believe in a world where we are one race, one people; forward thinking, inclusive and progressive in our attitudes. This is what we should be working towards.
Is Britain Great?
The cries of "I want my England back" are closely linked with the idea Imperialism.
The Empire is dead.
The lands and resources that made up The British Empire, taken almost entirely by force from anyone with more pigment in their skin than those brave British colonialists of old, were returned to their rightful owners and we withdrew to our own shores, not as a scolded mutt, but as the most successful Empire to have existed; of that we can be collectively proud. We admitted mistakes, errors and hypocrisy and endeavoured to stand by those countries, rather than give them up resentfully. In this way, we showed the fibre of our fabric.
Historically, most Empires fail in a glorious display of pyrotechnics - pulled down by those they oppress or dragged down from within due to their own gluttony and hubris, eventually poisoned by their own corruption. The British Empire did not - we made reparations, returns and maintained close diplomatic and cultural ties with those countries. To me, a Tikka Masala is as British as Pie and Mash. Fish and Chips, often considered one of the most British meals, was bought to our land by the Jewish people as early as c. 1840. Britain is the land of the hodge-podge, the melting pot, the cultural tagine in which we, the indigenous, are the sultanas, made palatable by the blend of spices, sauce and myriad other ingredients.
Britain is a gestalt entity.
Until 30 months ago, I would have argued that yes, for the most part, modern Britain was deserving of the second meaning behind the "Great" in its name.
For me, Britain is the country that throws its arms open to the world, inviting people of all races and creeds to our country, and allowing them to continue their own traditions, incorporating them into our own, offering no oppression for other religions and in a lot of cases, offering sanctuary from oppression. The country that enjoys learning about other cultures.
Do we really want a return of Imperial Britain? A Britain blinded by arrogance, where anyone with darker skin, or whose mother tongue is anything but perfect English, is seen as second class?
The rhetoric of "my father/grandfather died to make this country great" just doesn't hold water. The brave men who went to fight for us were opposing exactly the diet-nationalist attitude you are displaying. Imperialism, at its furthest reach, very easily becomes fascism, institutional xenophobia and rank national pride.
Leave your national pride behind, it betrays you into a set of behaviours which that body you have so much pride in does not value or reward. Pride goeth before a fall. As the great George Carlin said (paraphrasing here) "why would you be proud of something you didn't achieve or work to become?" - it takes no effort to be {insert nationality} - by pure luck, those of us who are "born British" were just lucky that we emerged on this strip of land.
Britain was amongst the countries at the forefront of foreign aid, of helping other nations to better themselves through education, sanitation, and technology. Ensuring safety for those worse off than us, working to develop a better world, even though we may not see the benefits today.
"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."
Now...onto those steering the good ship Britain:
Billy Connolly once said "the desire to be involved in politics is what should preclude you entirely" (or words to that effect) and I couldn't agree more.
The real danger we face is not a Deal or No Deal situation, without a cheeky Noel-esque character to keep us chipper when it all goes bent on us, but the fact that NEITHER main party - because let us be honest, British politics really is a two horse race, with a few miniature ponies bringing up the rear - has any real care for the country currently, but have their sights set on the 2022 General Election and retaining or winning power.
The entire farcical caberet in the House of Commons is just blatant virtue signalling, political member-swinging, all thinly veiling self-preservation and a "pull the ladder up, Jack" mentality in all but a few MPs.
The obvious distraction tactics seem to have been dropped in recent weeks, as in-fighting in the parties, as well as near constant bickering between has been the order of the day, the stage curtain torn aside to reveal the ghastly reality that, at best, our leader is only passionate about one thing: her legacy, and bugger the rest. And her main opponent, Comrade Corbyn, doesn't have the backbone to make a proper go at deposing her.
In fact, the sad truth is that our most effective prime minister in the last 20 years has been Tony Blair, a man so unctuous he's been sponsored by Castrol. To be fair, his recent resurfacing hasn't filled me with the disgust it once did...I think it's because we know George Bush's hand is not working his little wooden mouth.
It's my amateur opinion that, at the point of the referendum being won by the narrowest of margins, the entire process should have been depoliticised, removing the ability for any party to use it as campaign fodder, and dealt with behind closed doors by a legal team tasked with delivering the peoples choice whilst not bankrupting the country in the process.
I think I would like to close with one statement:
Your democratic right is to vote whatever way you feel is right at the time, but with 2 and a half years of hindsight, would you really vote "Leave" again, knowing just how bad it is going to be for all but those in positions of wealth and power? Everything will cost more while we all earn relatively less.
For me, the price of Brexit was always too high, but until recently, I haven't fully understood the real extent of the price our departure will exact. On the 29th March we make a choice as a nation and that choice echoes into the far future.
I am terrified.
How did we get into this ridiculous situation?
How did we ever think that even flirting with the idea of extricating ourselves from an infrastructure built on cooperation and trust, nearly 60 years old, was going to be anything but disastrous?
I voted to "Remain" in the European Union in the 2016 Referendum.
I voted to Remain because, at the core of it, I believe in a world where we are one race, one people; forward thinking, inclusive and progressive in our attitudes. This is what we should be working towards.
Is Britain Great?
The cries of "I want my England back" are closely linked with the idea Imperialism.
The Empire is dead.
The lands and resources that made up The British Empire, taken almost entirely by force from anyone with more pigment in their skin than those brave British colonialists of old, were returned to their rightful owners and we withdrew to our own shores, not as a scolded mutt, but as the most successful Empire to have existed; of that we can be collectively proud. We admitted mistakes, errors and hypocrisy and endeavoured to stand by those countries, rather than give them up resentfully. In this way, we showed the fibre of our fabric.
Historically, most Empires fail in a glorious display of pyrotechnics - pulled down by those they oppress or dragged down from within due to their own gluttony and hubris, eventually poisoned by their own corruption. The British Empire did not - we made reparations, returns and maintained close diplomatic and cultural ties with those countries. To me, a Tikka Masala is as British as Pie and Mash. Fish and Chips, often considered one of the most British meals, was bought to our land by the Jewish people as early as c. 1840. Britain is the land of the hodge-podge, the melting pot, the cultural tagine in which we, the indigenous, are the sultanas, made palatable by the blend of spices, sauce and myriad other ingredients.
Britain is a gestalt entity.
Until 30 months ago, I would have argued that yes, for the most part, modern Britain was deserving of the second meaning behind the "Great" in its name.
For me, Britain is the country that throws its arms open to the world, inviting people of all races and creeds to our country, and allowing them to continue their own traditions, incorporating them into our own, offering no oppression for other religions and in a lot of cases, offering sanctuary from oppression. The country that enjoys learning about other cultures.
Do we really want a return of Imperial Britain? A Britain blinded by arrogance, where anyone with darker skin, or whose mother tongue is anything but perfect English, is seen as second class?
The rhetoric of "my father/grandfather died to make this country great" just doesn't hold water. The brave men who went to fight for us were opposing exactly the diet-nationalist attitude you are displaying. Imperialism, at its furthest reach, very easily becomes fascism, institutional xenophobia and rank national pride.
Leave your national pride behind, it betrays you into a set of behaviours which that body you have so much pride in does not value or reward. Pride goeth before a fall. As the great George Carlin said (paraphrasing here) "why would you be proud of something you didn't achieve or work to become?" - it takes no effort to be {insert nationality} - by pure luck, those of us who are "born British" were just lucky that we emerged on this strip of land.
Britain was amongst the countries at the forefront of foreign aid, of helping other nations to better themselves through education, sanitation, and technology. Ensuring safety for those worse off than us, working to develop a better world, even though we may not see the benefits today.
"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."
Now...onto those steering the good ship Britain:
Billy Connolly once said "the desire to be involved in politics is what should preclude you entirely" (or words to that effect) and I couldn't agree more.
The real danger we face is not a Deal or No Deal situation, without a cheeky Noel-esque character to keep us chipper when it all goes bent on us, but the fact that NEITHER main party - because let us be honest, British politics really is a two horse race, with a few miniature ponies bringing up the rear - has any real care for the country currently, but have their sights set on the 2022 General Election and retaining or winning power.
The entire farcical caberet in the House of Commons is just blatant virtue signalling, political member-swinging, all thinly veiling self-preservation and a "pull the ladder up, Jack" mentality in all but a few MPs.
The obvious distraction tactics seem to have been dropped in recent weeks, as in-fighting in the parties, as well as near constant bickering between has been the order of the day, the stage curtain torn aside to reveal the ghastly reality that, at best, our leader is only passionate about one thing: her legacy, and bugger the rest. And her main opponent, Comrade Corbyn, doesn't have the backbone to make a proper go at deposing her.
In fact, the sad truth is that our most effective prime minister in the last 20 years has been Tony Blair, a man so unctuous he's been sponsored by Castrol. To be fair, his recent resurfacing hasn't filled me with the disgust it once did...I think it's because we know George Bush's hand is not working his little wooden mouth.
It's my amateur opinion that, at the point of the referendum being won by the narrowest of margins, the entire process should have been depoliticised, removing the ability for any party to use it as campaign fodder, and dealt with behind closed doors by a legal team tasked with delivering the peoples choice whilst not bankrupting the country in the process.
I think I would like to close with one statement:
Your democratic right is to vote whatever way you feel is right at the time, but with 2 and a half years of hindsight, would you really vote "Leave" again, knowing just how bad it is going to be for all but those in positions of wealth and power? Everything will cost more while we all earn relatively less.
For me, the price of Brexit was always too high, but until recently, I haven't fully understood the real extent of the price our departure will exact. On the 29th March we make a choice as a nation and that choice echoes into the far future.
I am terrified.
Comments
Post a Comment