Re: Comparing his election record to that of the English 'lords' - or to Johnny Bat Guano's for that Archived Message
Posted by Thomas Newfield on February 7, 2019, 3:58 pm, in reply to "Re: Comparing his election record to that of the English 'lords' - or to Johnny Bat Guano's for that"
True looking at most European (OK, guessing there, but from talking to European friends) and British media you would think the Brexit position is based mainly on "emotional romantic nationalism" but I think this gives an incomplete picture. I think the Brexit vote was protest against poverty, yes and overcrowding, against the idea that there is no alternative on a whole raft of issues. On the positive side: people voted in line with their pre-existing hopes or bitterness: of course what people wanted varied a lot. It was after all a vote to LEAVE so to criticise it as a vote FOR nothing is unfair when there was nothing to vote for. Second you seem to be suggesting a vote for self-determination equates with this romantic nationalism - and therefore presumably supranational "globalised" sovereignty is pragmatic, the only sensible thing - etc. But isn't self-determination the same thing as sovereignty? Is sovereignty a romantic dream? I suppose if we're realistic, it is. For me at this point I need to remember the EU is and is not: NOT: A union of equal partners etc etc IS: A crypto-empire directed in its principle themes from the US. Personally that makes me feel, romantic. I see leaving the EU as a long shot, a step towards dealing with the challenges we face. Also it's not so bad in the sense that the EU is already screwed - it's falling apart at the seams all over the place and anyone that had the chance to vote for the main treaty of Lisbon (the EU constitution) rejected it (until ordered to accept). We're like the proverbial rats. We may well drown en masse - same as the 'alternative'. Incidentally for me what's caused havoc in mainland Europe mostly boils down to greed and nationalism has often been the defence against it - see Ireland, Greece.
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