After Brexit - am I stupid or what?

Personally I don't think my life will be better outside the EU.
I'm kind of expecting more of the same.
After you reach a certain age you realise it's all down hill from here on in.

But at least we do get a chance to vote out our parliament, unlike the unelected heads of the EU .

Also I find it unrealistic to expect 27 different countries with widely varying needs and living conditions to agree, with certain countries being brow beaten into going along with the few countries who basically run the show.
I've said it before, but I actually voted against joining in the first place, and nothing has happened to change my mind in the last 40years or so.
So for me it was no snap decision based on numbers being written on the side of a bus.

 

I voted leave and would do so again, i don't want all my eggs in one basket, i also would like a leader that is strong but fair and not lots of grey area's which we seem to have in todays world

 

I thought it was a rerun of Starski and Hutch.

 

Oh, I am not here to change anyones mind. Besides, what is done is done. But I mostly get my information out of the local media which sometimes lacks the insight i can get talking to real UK-citizens.
And while there is a lot of blaming and demonizing going on i think the truth is somewhere in between.

History will tell

 

Love that movie and have the CD in my vehicle. When the grandkids act up during a drive I either start playing it or Harry Belafonte, both of which I enjoy, and they settle down.

I think there are enough tensions durung these lockdowns without warring over logisitics that are still being sorted.

And I woild have voted For if I had been there and eligible to vote.

 

@Black Dog with only the media to rely on as you said above, a lot of which can't be taken seriously or is very one sided. I'd like to give an insight on how many Brits think. I may or may not get the support of others here as this is my opinion.

First, taking you way back in history. Great Britain (I don't use the title UK ever) as you know is an island and we've fought to maintain our independence from other countries, going as far back as the Romans, Scandinavian raiders and later Normans etc. Some of those peoples were accepted and settled here turning Britain into a multi national country, but even so Brits and Britain continued to maintain it's independence from the continent - loyal, protective and independent throughout history to the point of being stubborn. Being an island nation it has given us the strength and ability to look after our own people and protect our shores.

Edward Heath, prime minister decided in his wisdom that it would be good for Britain to join the EC - now the EU, many years ago. Yes it was a reasonable idea at the time although many Brits did not want it. In the early years we accepted what was on offer but as time progressed and the EU came into being, Britain's island independence was and has been gradually eroded. Our country was one of the highest payers into the EU coffers. Rules and regulations were increasing to the point where we weren't allowed to sneeze or cough without the EU's say so first, and up until Brexit started the EU was putting more and more hurdles in our way, no doubt, with thoughts of taking away our independence completely.

As you know since the start of Brexit the pressure from the EU has been continuous to keep Britain and it's citizens within their grip, trying many underhand ways to make us give in and stay within the 'bloc'. Yes, the 'bloc' as it's now being called, a word I loathe because of what it suggests and has meant down through history. But as I have said Britain has always been fiercely protective of it's shores and citizens and that still stands now. It's not surprising we've fought back to regain our independence. Britain is not part of Europe, it's an island. Europe is a continent, well that's what I was taught at school many years ago.

The vote to leave the EU may have been close and a high percentage of those votes to leave were probably from our older generation. I am part of that older school but couldn't vote as I was living outside the EU at the time, but I would have voted to leave.

As Britain recovers from the departure of the EU it will rebuild and gain it's previous strength as an island nation, as in all those years in past history under siege from other nations. Our youngsters will grow with it and adapt. Many would agree that the 'Great' has been lost from Britain since joining the EU, it's now time for us to put it back and I for one believe we can!

 

I have always felt European having lived in Spain and now France although most of my life in the UK as a British Citizen. but now treated as a .. I do not know really...rejected, I feel rejected by my birth country right now... but feel my heart is living a happy life and politics just get in the way of that.

 

I do not think you are being rejected. There are nationalists in every country who wouldn't like anything more than "send the foreigners back where they came from", but loud voices are more likely to be picked up in the media. It doesn't really reflect on the true numbers of people in favor or against something.

The problem with positive change is, that it doesn't happen overnight. Lives tend to gradually become easier and better whithout most people even noticing. They forget how cumbersome it was to travel in the olden days with passport checks at every border. Forget about the hassle to import something from abdroad. When the supermarktes were mostly resticted to local food and everything else was priced at least double. When the only choice anyone had was between three types of (affordable) cars and weather you wanted your new phone to be green or sand-colored.

And now, with the new trade restrictions, the EU spent decades to break down against a lot of nationalistic naysayers, you basically return to the glorious days before. Trained nurses leaving the country because the working climate gets more and more hostile. Companies deciding it would be too much hassle to export something to or from the UK because of the increased prices.

And last but not least, regulations are not neccessarily bad. Without them we would still use a dozen different charger cable for our cellphones, people would still paint their fences with lead based color and it would be impossible to get spare parts for anything outside of your own country. Also whatever regulations have been decided in the EU, don't be fooled to think it will be easy to rebuild them in every country. Why would it be cheaper to have 16+ different airtraffic legislation ministries or chemical registration and evaluation bureaus?

It is easy to just blame everything on the EU, "taking away our rights and freedom, squashing us under their heel" but when it comes to actually naming those oppressive things the EU does, the answer is mostly silence. Or they point to travel restrictions, toll fees and border security costs and say "the EU wants to punish us". We won't. But you basically stopped paying rent for your house and garden because it is so damn expensive but refuse to actually leave because you lived there for so long. And blame the landlord for keeping the cleaning lady out and cutting off water and electricity.

But i think some very famous british guys found the right words a few decades ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch/Y7tvauOJMHo

 

I thought Empires, Roman or whatever, were something to be avoided these days.

I do know the British Empire is not considered PC these days and certain people want to give us a good caning over it.
Presumably the same with some European countries who had Empires.

I think the actual fact that the EU were, and still are, trying to turn a Trading Bloc into a Empire of Europe, was the very reason we left.

 

@ARMANDII
First of all, thank you for keeping it civil. It is a rare quality in these emotionally charged times. Especially with a topic this difficult. And I thoroughly enjoy discussing topics like this in a calm and civilized way with people offering more than just insults and lots of exclamation marks.

But I do have to say I am always intrigued by the battle vocabulary being used by the brexiteers. It's always empire, tentacles, fangs, poison, mutations and clutches.
Almost as if the media already succeeded in addressing the most basic instincts in people by demonizing the EU.

But still there is one question that remains. What would you say to parts of the UK with a strong urge for independence like Scotland (and to a degree also Northern Ireland). Wouldn't it just be fair to also give them the right to choose their own destiny? I mean how can you proclaim independence from a superpower that wants to take your rights and slowly assimilate you into a bigger entity and in the same breath deny that very thing to others who strive for it?

Again, I am not trying to insult anyone. I am genuinely curious about the arguments behind it.

 

If Scotland wants to leave they can IMO, I wasn't under the impression N I wanted to leave the UK although there are those who want it to become part of the so called United Ireland.