Blog-detail - Project Orchard
BREXIT - AN OUTSIDER’S VIEW:
Brexit - An outsider’s view:
Sometimes we are too close to a situation to see it clearly. I wonder if this is the case with the British people vis a vis Brexit, and now specifically Boris Johnson.
Often times it is the little things that tell us about the true character of a person and gives an insight into the soul of those who matter to us. It is that glance, that adoring glance that she gives you for no reason, or the sweet nothings he whispers or, even more importantly, sometimes what is not said is the biggest clue.
The non-letter letter
So, it is with Boris Johnson, or Boris Trump as I often think of him, that his simple actions speak volumes for his character. If someone who was obliged to make a payment to you, sent you a check but did not sign it and subsequently sent you a note saying that I don’t feel like fulling my obligation. Would you trust such a person? Furthermore, if you found that such a person had a pattern of such behavior, such as lying to the Queen, breaking the law as confirmed by the supreme court, would you trust him?
It begs the question therefore why is Boris, so hell bent on Brexit?
As the prime minister he took an oath to do the right (lawful thing). He was required by law to request an extension to the Brexit deadline not to pretend to do so. His responsibility as PM is to the British People, the British Rule of law and certainly to the Monarchy. And, therefore, his responsibility is to send a letter asking for an extension.
He sent an unsigned letter. Not only defying the law but adding a slap in the face. And drove the point home that all he cares about is promoting his own personal self-righteous agenda - BREXIT at any cost – and, ultimately, furthering his personal ambition.
The shell game
Looking in from outside, one cannot but help wonder whether Brexit is the real issue here or there is a different game afoot. It looks awfully similar to three card Monty, where apparently the focus is on the queen of spades, but the real game is a con. Is Brexit the Queen of Spades? If so, what is the real game?
Again, looking from the outside as a somewhat impartial observer, it seems to me that BREXIT is merely a symptom, albeit a major symptom of a much bigger global ailment.
It seems to me that the Referendum, especially as close as it was, almost split in half was not really about whether to LEAVE or STAY but rather; are you SATISFIED with your membership of EU. It is unfortunate that both parties framed the question not to find out how the PEOPLE felt about their membership but to promote and support their own proposed solution to the question they really knew the answer to.
I am sure if the question was whether you are satisfied with your membership of EU, the vast majority would say NO. Of course, the obvious and the easiest solution to that problem, as any child who plays a game, he or she does not like is to either put up with it or pick up their marbles and go home. Of course, a better and a more mature approach would be to understand the real root of the dissatisfaction and resolve the conflict. Granted, a lot easier said than done.
The real issue, then, is that the British, I dare say like many other members of EU, are not satisfied with the way their membership has turned out. They feel that the underlying foundation of the membership was that together the members will all benefit from the union, however it turned out that some members benefitted more from the union than others and in the long run some were even worst off. That, my friends, is the stark reality of BREXIT.
So, the ideal solution is not whether to LEAVE or STAY but rather to understand the cause of this unfair and unjust outcome and how to FIX it. But of course, today’s politicians lack the strength of character to do the right thing. Needless to say, we the public share our fair share of the blame. We have time and time again taken the easy way out and shifted our responsibilities to others, some of us don’t even vote. We have over the years lowered our standards and expectations of the people we choose to lead us. We only vote our pocket without any eye on the long-term impact of our choices. To do otherwise seems a lot of hard work.
But, I digress, this is a topic for another time.
The immediate question is; whether this discontent with the EU, even, the real game? Or is it yet another symptom of an even bigger problem.
Connecting the dots
Again, as outsiders, looking around the world, we can see similar symptoms of DISCONTENT, across the globe in every continent. Whether it be the protests in Hong Kong, or the demonstrations in Paris, the recent demonstrations in Lebanon, the shootings in New Zealand and various shootings in the US, the unrest in Venezuela and recently in Chile, and on and on and on and these demonstrations of discontent are popping up in country after country more and more frequently.
So, what is the real disease that ails our global community of which these are the symptoms.
Let’s connect the dots.
There is growing unrest and discontent being expressed by all different groups across the globe to protest the increasing gap between the haves and have nots. The evidence being that the 1% control more than 50% of the global wealth. So, the first dot is the Prosperity gap
Then there are cries and warnings of climate change which threatens the very existence of our planet. While some of the causes of this climate change are simply a matter of the evolution of the universe and not much we can do about, however there are many aspects of this climate change, such as global warming, which are caused by our actions and those aspects we OUGHT to be able to do something about. Furthermore, according to the scientific data global warming is directly connected to carbon emission, which is direct result of industrialization and our thirst for technology. And the second dot is global warming.
It is therefore not hard to connect these dots and recognize that collectively they pose an existential threat to humanity. It will not be the first time that extinction of a species is a reality. Species are getting extinct daily and we know about the extinction of the dinosaurs. So, let’s not be naïve and arrogant to think that we are immune to extinction. We should however be SMART to recognize that unlike all other species we have a gift. The gift of the ability to think, to foresee and to plan an alternate path to whatever path we choose to avoid. Let’s be humble and use this gift to make smart decision to not only avoid extinction but perhaps chart a course for better and greater prosperity for all future mankind.
Meanwhile while we figure out this path to prosperity for all life goes on and there is till this issue of BREXIT.
The immediate need
Again, as an outsider, who too has a stake in this BREXIT issue, as according to the butterfly theory, it affects us all, the mature thing to do may be as follows:
It is quite clear by now that, at the very least, the public was misinformed about how easy the BREXIT was going to be and about its true costs and benefits which are becoming quite evident with every passing moment. It seems therefore only fair that there be a second referendum and this time to ACTUALLY find out what the British people really want rather than tell them what to think and paint them in a corner by asking to leave or stay. Perhaps a better set of option could be:
1) Are you totally fed up with EU and just want to leave no matter what the cost.
2) You feel that Britain, like a few others, is not getting a fair shake and would like its representatives and EU to work towards reforming the EU to make it more equitable for all, just the way it was originally intended to be. This way EU would also be held accountable for its part in this mess, which they have been able to avoid so far.
3) You like the EU so much that you are willing to stay just as is and pretend that these last 3+ years never happened.
That said we can go back to finding the solution to our COLLECTIVE existential threat to all of humanity regardless of nationality, religion or any other categorization. Bearing in mind that this is monumental, though not impossible task which will take time, dedication, persistence and above all collaboration.
Stay tuned….
Comments ( 1 )
Joseph Mahmood Anwar Khan
13 December, 2019 at 08:54 AMTesting the blog. Hi Kunj. Did you create a templete/structure for this, so that Irfan can directly upload this on the main site.
128291