Our cousins in Britain voted to leave
the European Union last week. I expect we'll see EU soldiers landing
on the beaches of Dover soon to put down this insurrection. After
all, “The Union must be preserved.”
If Britain is allowed to leave,
other countries might get the idea to leave, too. (In fact, they
already have:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/23/the-brexit-contagion-how-france-italy-and-the-netherlands-now-wa/
) In the interest of all parties concerned, any means necessary
should be used to dispense with this foolishness.
What's that, you say? A state that willingly enters into a contract with other states can also willingly abolish that contract? Surely you jest. Any government derives its power solely from the consent of the governed? What a quaint notion. It is the right of the people to abolish a government if they deem it destructive to their self-interest? A recipe for anarchy.
Everyone knows that governments at every level exist for one reason and one reason alone: to further the interests of the banking class. In headline after headline, we have seen dire predictions for the British, European, and world economies should Britain vote Leave. None other than currency speculator extraordinaire George Soros has warned (threatened?) Britain against leaving the EU:
What's that, you say? A state that willingly enters into a contract with other states can also willingly abolish that contract? Surely you jest. Any government derives its power solely from the consent of the governed? What a quaint notion. It is the right of the people to abolish a government if they deem it destructive to their self-interest? A recipe for anarchy.
Everyone knows that governments at every level exist for one reason and one reason alone: to further the interests of the banking class. In headline after headline, we have seen dire predictions for the British, European, and world economies should Britain vote Leave. None other than currency speculator extraordinaire George Soros has warned (threatened?) Britain against leaving the EU:
Never mind the fact that these predictions are largely self-fulfilling: By stoking fears of the economic fallout of Brexit, those in the financial sector basically assure that stocks will be sold off and markets will plummet. Who stands to benefit in the long run no one can say. After all, someone is buying all of those stocks, and the companies are run by the same people the day after the vote as the day before the vote. What I do know for sure is that there is no old man behind the curtain pulling the levers, and anyone who dares suspect otherwise is clearly a xenophobic, racist, anti-capitalist troublemaker!
Sarcasm aside, the case against Brexit, made here by a decidedly anti-Brexit publication, The Economist, in fact illustrates exactly the case FOR Britian's leaving:
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21693584-leaving-eu-would-hurt-britainand-would-also-deal-terrible-blow-west-real-danger
“the
union would also demand the free movement of people and a big payment
to its budget before allowing unfettered access to the market.”
“Worse, the EU would have a strong incentive to impose a harsh settlement to discourage other countries from leaving.”
“Gaining the right to stop immigration from the EU would almost certainly mean losing full access to the single market.”
“European leaders know Brexit would weaken a club already in deep trouble over such issues as migration and the euro crisis. And Europe would be poorer without Britain’s voice:.”
“Without Britain, it would be harder for the EU to pull its global weight—a big loss to the West in a troubled neighbourhood, from Russia through Syria to north Africa. It is little wonder that Russia’s Vladimir Putin is keen on Brexit...”
“Worse, the EU would have a strong incentive to impose a harsh settlement to discourage other countries from leaving.”
“Gaining the right to stop immigration from the EU would almost certainly mean losing full access to the single market.”
“European leaders know Brexit would weaken a club already in deep trouble over such issues as migration and the euro crisis. And Europe would be poorer without Britain’s voice:.”
“Without Britain, it would be harder for the EU to pull its global weight—a big loss to the West in a troubled neighbourhood, from Russia through Syria to north Africa. It is little wonder that Russia’s Vladimir Putin is keen on Brexit...”
“The
union would demand...” “...harsh settlement...” “...losing
full access...” “...a club already in trouble...” “...harder
for the EU to pull its global weight...”
So let me get this
straight: a club “already in trouble,” due to the Euro crisis,
Greek debt, an immigration policy that is tearing it apart at the
seams, and economic policies that reward spenders at the expense of
savers, seeks to punish Britain for exercising its rights as a
sovereign nation and leaving the sinking ship. As to the idea that it
would be harder for the EU to “pull its global weight”-- what
weight has the EU already been pulling? From Ukraine to Syria, it
bascially lets Vladimir Putin do whatever he wants with few
consequences, all because Europe depends on Russian natural
gas...
But there is another aspect to this whole episode that I think bears examination. It is the idea of Culture. As so-called “Remainers” like to point out, one of the biggest issues driving the “Leave” campaign is the issue of immigration. Remainers like to paint the Leavers as anti-immigrant, racist, xenophobic, or whatever not-politically-correct appellation suits them at the time. Surely, they say, the Leavers' objections to their nation not having control over its own immigration standards, and cries of taking back “sovereignty” and “control,” are merely a cover for their own prejudice. So the question must be asked: Is the Leavers' attitude toward immigration based on unfounded fears and biases, stoked by demagogues and other unsavory power-seekers? Or is it a logical response to a phenomenon which strikes at something much more personal, fundamental, and permanent than stock market fluctuations and currency valuations, something that makes up the very fabric of life and forms the very soul of any Nation, which is to say, their Culture?
The answer, of course, is Yes. The people of Britain are justifiably frightened by what they see happening to the culture of their nation and region. Muslim leaders openly call for the imposition of Sharia law. British soldier Lee Rigby is brutally murdered in the street in the name of Islam, an act which inspires multiple people to attempt copycat killings. A Muslim man who admired the ISIS mass-murderer “Jihadi John” and wanted to outdo the Rigby murder is arrested for plotting to behead flower sellers on Remembrance Day. Muslim immigrants in Cologne, Germany grope, rob and gang-rape countless women on New Year's Eve; a similar assault recently took place at a music festival in Darmstadt. Norway is forced to institute free classes for Muslim immigrant men in order to teach them “how not to rape.”
Does this wave of Muslim immigration seem innocuous to you? Does it seem compatible with Western culture? Would you feel the same way if it were your mother, daughter, or sister who was sexually assaulted by a gang of Muslim men?
There are some things more important than the S&P 500 or the balance sheets of bankers and hedge fund managers. The right of your loved ones to walk the streets safe from the jeers, leers, and outright assaults of men whose culture tells them that it is ok to beat women, to sexually assault women, and to rape women (especially ones who are deemed to by them to be dressed inappropriately) obviously takes precedence over such temporary economic concerns.
I'm not saying that Islam is evil, or all Muslims are rapists, or immigration is inherently bad. What I'm saying is that the issue here is one of Culture. The people of Britain have every right to question whether the cultural values of this new wave of immigrants are compatible with their own (and many good reasons to be skeptical about it.) Culture matters to people, and the powers-that-be ignore that at their own peril.
But there is another aspect to this whole episode that I think bears examination. It is the idea of Culture. As so-called “Remainers” like to point out, one of the biggest issues driving the “Leave” campaign is the issue of immigration. Remainers like to paint the Leavers as anti-immigrant, racist, xenophobic, or whatever not-politically-correct appellation suits them at the time. Surely, they say, the Leavers' objections to their nation not having control over its own immigration standards, and cries of taking back “sovereignty” and “control,” are merely a cover for their own prejudice. So the question must be asked: Is the Leavers' attitude toward immigration based on unfounded fears and biases, stoked by demagogues and other unsavory power-seekers? Or is it a logical response to a phenomenon which strikes at something much more personal, fundamental, and permanent than stock market fluctuations and currency valuations, something that makes up the very fabric of life and forms the very soul of any Nation, which is to say, their Culture?
The answer, of course, is Yes. The people of Britain are justifiably frightened by what they see happening to the culture of their nation and region. Muslim leaders openly call for the imposition of Sharia law. British soldier Lee Rigby is brutally murdered in the street in the name of Islam, an act which inspires multiple people to attempt copycat killings. A Muslim man who admired the ISIS mass-murderer “Jihadi John” and wanted to outdo the Rigby murder is arrested for plotting to behead flower sellers on Remembrance Day. Muslim immigrants in Cologne, Germany grope, rob and gang-rape countless women on New Year's Eve; a similar assault recently took place at a music festival in Darmstadt. Norway is forced to institute free classes for Muslim immigrant men in order to teach them “how not to rape.”
Does this wave of Muslim immigration seem innocuous to you? Does it seem compatible with Western culture? Would you feel the same way if it were your mother, daughter, or sister who was sexually assaulted by a gang of Muslim men?
There are some things more important than the S&P 500 or the balance sheets of bankers and hedge fund managers. The right of your loved ones to walk the streets safe from the jeers, leers, and outright assaults of men whose culture tells them that it is ok to beat women, to sexually assault women, and to rape women (especially ones who are deemed to by them to be dressed inappropriately) obviously takes precedence over such temporary economic concerns.
I'm not saying that Islam is evil, or all Muslims are rapists, or immigration is inherently bad. What I'm saying is that the issue here is one of Culture. The people of Britain have every right to question whether the cultural values of this new wave of immigrants are compatible with their own (and many good reasons to be skeptical about it.) Culture matters to people, and the powers-that-be ignore that at their own peril.
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