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| Financial Times |
"A quick note on the first three tragedies. Firstly, it was the working classes who voted for us to leave because they were economically disregarded and it is they who will suffer the most in the short term from the dearth of jobs and investment. They have merely swapped one distant and unreachable elite for another one. Secondly, the younger generation has lost the right to live and work in 27 other countries. We will never know the full extent of the lost opportunities, friendships, marriages and experiences we will be denied. Freedom of movement was taken away by our parents, uncles, and grandparents in a parting blow to a generation that was already drowning in the debts of our predecessors. Thirdly, and perhaps most significantly, we now live in a post-factual democracy. When the facts met the myths they were as useless as bullets bouncing off the bodies of aliens in a HG Wells novel. When Michael Gove said 'the British people are sick of experts' he was right. But can anybody tell me the last time a prevailing culture of anti-intellectualism has lead to anything other than bigotry?"
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I was living in Amsterdam in the late 1980's when Europe was putting the European Economic Community (EEC as it was then called) together and recruiting countries to participate. It was finally put into effect in 1993. I remember the biggest fears came from bigotry, fear of a more "open" immigration and the loss of individual national identities. The biggest hopes were all based on the benefits of shared job opportunities and the sort of security it could promise and promote.
It seemed to me at the time that it would give Europe, as a union the same sort of clout that we have in America. Our union is now almost 240 years old. Do we take the benefits of this union for granted? I'm sure I do. It is so very hard to balance our way of thinking - the intellectual vs the emotional. What are we grateful for? What are we afraid of? What can we work towards to effectively change to make it better for the majority? It remains our ongoing privilege and duty. Our emotions get so very overwhelming when we feel invisible, when we are frustrated beyond control. It is so very important to carefully consider the things which upset us before we act irrationally.
I've been thinking of this phrase this morning - "Don't let the bastards grind you down," or the phrase "Illegitimi non carborundum," which oddly enough originates in usage from British Army Intelligence (yeah, I know...) during WWII.
Now I need to give my brain a break and try not to think too terribly hard about our current elections dilemma of fear vs fact in the US. I think I'll spend the rest of today drinking from my "Keep Calm and Carry On" coffee cup. Thanks again for that, Carol!!
