Vote option 3. with me.
I’ll be protesting about being dragged into irrelevant
Tory Party tantrums. I’ll be voting against the Prime Minister Dave’s
Diversion. Counter-intuitively that means voting for the government’s position.
Why?
Last week I posted a piece entitled War – What is it? In checking my stats for that blog I settled on
what seem to be the agreed WW1 casualty figures (killed 17m+ and wounded 20m+).
Estimates of WW2 fatalities vary but it is believed to be over 60m, 3% of the
1940 global population. So if you want around 100million human reasons not to
break up the EU there they are. And if you think that kind of aggression cannot
break out at the drop of a hat – look at the European cup. Those hooligans have
votes and they’d love a Storm Trooper or a Black Shirt uniform.
But let’s, for argument’s sake, say that breaking from the 28
strong union of European countries is sensible (!) This is so not the time. In
case PM Cameron and the, I’m-alright-Jack politicians haven’t noticed, the
world is in trouble.
As for placating the bigots – they are ALWAYS going to be bigoted.
In or out they will want their scapegoats. That’s what they do. And it’s much
easier to blame a Polish plumber for economic woes than the real culprits such
as Russian, Arab and Chinese oligarchs buying up London, weak political
leadership and British businessmen squirrelling away loot in tax havens.
Do we need the kinds of EU working regulations that are so
sneered at by avaricious tycoons? Well, if you have been paying attention to
the nasty greedy scumbags, asset-stripping British businesses (see blog 185. Does Sir Philip Green kick disabled orphan
kittens in his spare time?) we do. If you have been appalled by UK
companies running sweatshops and keeping the majority of their workers on zero
hours contracts like the boss of Sports Direct (see blog 174. Zero Hours) then we do.
Both sides are scaremongering. Both sides are grubbing in
the gutter. Call it what you will – fiddling while Rome burns, bickering while
children drown, squabbling while people starve – the British EU referendum is a
monumental waste of time, money and human resources.
In some ways this post is a timely conflation of many of
the topics covered recently. Small men making big war, the divisions of
humanity, the cost of not seeing the whole picture and the ever increasing
prevalence of a corrosive attitude that money is more important than people.
Add to that, potential US president Dump thinks that an
horrific LGBT hate crime, with over 100 casualties, represents nothing more
than an opportunity for more mad rhetoric and the ground under your feet starts
to tilt. We need cohesion and sanity on this side of the Atlantic.
Disentangling from the EU and negotiating individual trade
and travel agreements with 27 other countries (the Brexit argument) is crazy.
Its like leaving the party that everyone else is at then hovering outside the back
door and hoping to catch people’s attention. Then you attempt to persuade them
to come to another party with you. JUST YOU. And you try and do the same with
every other guest. Why would they? They have a couple dozen other people to
party with at a bigger, better party.
I’m no fan of European politics. But then I am no fan of
national politics in 2016 either.
The rest of Europe may secretly be glad to see the back of
us when they observe the disparity in how Britain treats the very wealthy and
the very poor (Britain is one of the most unequal countries in the EU). When
they see how we’ve failed spectacularly to get to grips with contemporary
energy needs, failed to support British industry and so on. When they look at
the messes we made in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya. They may just wave politely the
way you do when a cranky, vindictive, attention-seeking, unpopular relative
finally leaves.
What I will be voting for is not Remain or Brexit. I will
be voting for the 3rd option which is NOT TO BE SO BLOODY STUPID. I
will vote Status Quo which, yes,
involves holding my nose and putting a cross in the Remain box.
It seems pedantic but voting is important. Never more so as
the veneer of democracy looks so cracked and worn.
If there were a 3rd
box labelled WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE I would vote for that. If there were
a 3rd box marked PEOPLE MATTER LET’s GET REAL I would vote for
that. If there were a 3rd box saying LET’s PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED
(and by the way here is the £150 - 200 Million cost of the referendum, back in
the treasury), I would vote for that. But there isn’t.
I want not to have wasted the time and the money and the
column inches in the lazy newspaper articles and so-called political
discussions on this ridiculous irrelevant sideshow.
By voting to stay in Europe I will be voting for this
privileged country not to be so self-indulgent while people are sleeping in
fields and the planet is dying and children are being abused on an industrial
scale and even in this country increasing numbers of families are relying on foodbanks.
I will be voting with embarrassment and shame that my
government is willing to stage this hedonistic distraction when we could have
used that energy and resource to help many people in this country and the rest
of the world to move forward in dignity together.
I am disgusted that the only question that seems to be
debated is, what we called in the old days, ‘hip-pocket-politics’ i.e what is
best for ME ME ME. It used to be a shameful position to take. Now it is the
only position.
The British EU Referendum has really shown just how sadly
lacking the world’s oldest democracy is, how mediocre our leaders. With adults
in highly responsible, lucrative positions bickering like spoilt 8-year-olds.
All the more reason I don’t want to be left entirely at their mercy.
I will be voting to get this over with and get on with what
matters.
I will be voting for common sense.
I will be voting to not have the next two decades blighted
by more of what we’ve had for the last couple of months.
I will be voting for Britain not to be economically hobbled
for years to come (even the Brexit campaign accept that would happen).
I will be voting not to have the rest of Europe so
disgusted with us that no one wants to party with the party poopers.
This post may be especially useful to you if appearing to
vote with Cameron makes you want to puke. It will be psychologically soothing
for you to vote this way if the sight of Blair oiling his way into the campaign
makes you want to run screaming down the street with your arse on fire.
I’ll be voting to get on with what matters. In other words,
I will be voting Status Quo - the 3rd alternative. I WILL be voting.