Out On the Streets!

O Lord, it’s true after all: too many of the English are still trying to live in the nineteenth century. Too much of that Postman Pat and Mr Oldcastle and Gumdrop stuff? The trouble is the old lights were not thoroughly extinguished in England, the way they were on the Continent. The Empire does not exist any more, but the mentality of many people, especially the elderly ones who won this vote, has not moved on.

The rhetoric of Empire has been replaced by vague talk of British Values and Democracy, as beloved by Mr Cameron. The British Constitution, insofar as it exists, in fact envisages rule by a sovereign whose authority is vested in Parliament. Where referendums come into it is by no means clear: a matter of good British fudge. Likewise the famous British Values are all over the place. Indeed more so than ever there is no proper respect for that which does not suit one's empire: for the other, for what is, irrespective of one's own interests, or for what has happened beyond one's control and its fruits. In fact where people let money rule their lives, you will end up with plutocracy; and Britain is now more of a plutocracy than at any time since the nineteenth century.

One ends up with a great deal of manipulation. That clown Mr Johnson with his jolly game and the rather seedy Mr Farage have ridden a campaign that (largely foreign) press magnates have been mounting for years, and it has been full of lies like the one on the battlebus. If one genuinely aspires to rule by the people, one first of all needs a People, a reasonable and coherent demos, with a genuine respect for truth; and then it does help if those who make decisions know what they are talking about, rather than merely shouting slogans at each other.

What exactly is this touted ‘independence’ anyway? The EU is but a (very inadequate) attempt to get a political handle on the many-layered interdependence of the modern world, both within Europe and beyond. For all its inadequacies, it is by far the most successful such attempt in the world. It was born of the painful realisation that there was no future in attempting to do so by knocking the **** out of each other, and it has achieved unparalleled peace and prosperity.

However, the times are getting difficult. It seems to me that the Brexit  vote was mainly an outburst of inchoate rage and misery. It is not surprising. Not alone have they lost an empire, but also they have largely lost both religion and a sound family structure to their lives. They feel they are being governed by forces utterly beyond their control, which is largely true; they are alienated exiles in what they took to be their own country. They have lashed out at the EU because it is in some people’s interest that they should identify it with these alien forces, rather than actually tracking them down and doing something about them.

Some very rich people are worried that the EU might even be going to succeed in making them pay their share of tax; however maybe now they will get to play golf with Mr Trump! But the battle is hotting up all the time. There are millions of unemployed, and more millions dying and displaced, beyond the borders of Europe. Thousands are drowning while trying to get here. Governments, including the UK, are being kept afloat by printing vast sums of money, and there is an end in sight for that. In Britain there is also a serious shortage of electricity coming down the tracks, which will have to be met by importing more power from the Continent. Then who is going to seriously address climate change? Our world presents a mass of problems that can only be addressed by building on the institutions, using the lines of communication, that have been so laboriously built up over the last sixty years.

The fantasy of ‘independence’ can only possibly be indulged at a very high price, which will have to be paid also by a lot of people who had no vote, in Ireland for example. One of the lies that I noticed from a Brexiter in the Spectator was that it would be a great blow for parliamentary democracy. Has the British Parliament voted for this? Would it have done so? No! This is a recipe for mob rule. It is also unjust, for the oldies who swung the balance will die soon enough, but the young who voted Remain have their lives to lead.

Well, people discover their brotherhood, their power and dignity, by facing problems together, in as honest and passionate a way as possible. It is up to the young to get out and show that they are not going to have their future toyed with. Let them get out and demonstrate. They could make it possible to hold a second referendum before this famous article is invoked. I think the result could be different. Many of those older voters had little idea what they were voting for, and might change their minds if they start listening to the youth rather than those Eurosceptic rags, and realised they had just voted for a reduction in the value of their pensions too.

Whatever anyone says, there is no time to lose; but oh, I do pity the people having to cope with all this nonsense, with the year on the turn and the month of July coming in. And after all effective action has to be rooted in quiet. It’s lovely here in Sherkin, but there is a lot to be done. If anyone out there fancies a bit of peace here, as well as doing some building and gardening and a bit of sailing, email me at:-

<gannetsway@gmail.com>

Flying the flag...

on a sombre morning.