Post by zen9 on Oct 1, 2016 21:16:37 GMT
"Legolas Greenleaf long under the tree,
In joy thou hast lived, Beware the Sea!
If thou hearest the cry of the gull on the shore,
Thy heart shall then rest in the forest no more."
Or to quote that old Imperialist, floor crossing, yank loving romantic Churchill...
"We are with Europe but not of it;
we are linked but not compromised.
We are associated but not absorbed.
If Britain must choose between Europe and the open sea, she must always choose the open sea"
And thus from the start, there has always been this tension. When the UK was in it's worst state, the dark years of industrial strife and lagging economic performance, the humiliations of even going to the IMF, the UK joined the EEC without a referendum and later had one which was won.
Decades have passed, and now another referendum has been held and the answer is to leave.
Beyond the turgid questions of "will we, won't we" and "isn't it awful, stupid, racist etc (and other rather ignorant things some people have said about 17 million people who voted to leave the EU).... to vote that way" one has to face the facts that we should and in fact now must envision the UK's role outside the EU.
Even if for some this is hard and they desire not to.
Even if the hopes of Remainers come true, this still should be done.
Because we should boldly look at what we are doing and challenge every assumption.
That is rigour and thoroughness and proper behaviour in the face of the need to plan for eventualities rather than the incompetence of pretending no change is possible let alone desirable.
At the moment what does change in defence terms if we leave the EU?
In joy thou hast lived, Beware the Sea!
If thou hearest the cry of the gull on the shore,
Thy heart shall then rest in the forest no more."
Or to quote that old Imperialist, floor crossing, yank loving romantic Churchill...
"We are with Europe but not of it;
we are linked but not compromised.
We are associated but not absorbed.
If Britain must choose between Europe and the open sea, she must always choose the open sea"
And thus from the start, there has always been this tension. When the UK was in it's worst state, the dark years of industrial strife and lagging economic performance, the humiliations of even going to the IMF, the UK joined the EEC without a referendum and later had one which was won.
Decades have passed, and now another referendum has been held and the answer is to leave.
Beyond the turgid questions of "will we, won't we" and "isn't it awful, stupid, racist etc (and other rather ignorant things some people have said about 17 million people who voted to leave the EU).... to vote that way" one has to face the facts that we should and in fact now must envision the UK's role outside the EU.
Even if for some this is hard and they desire not to.
Even if the hopes of Remainers come true, this still should be done.
Because we should boldly look at what we are doing and challenge every assumption.
That is rigour and thoroughness and proper behaviour in the face of the need to plan for eventualities rather than the incompetence of pretending no change is possible let alone desirable.
At the moment what does change in defence terms if we leave the EU?