Why Actual Real Everyday British People Should Vote To Stay In The EU

My fellow Britons.

C’mon. Seriously. We need to talk about Europe. The EU Referendum specifically.

It’s the elephant in the room; the dividing faction between generations. As a nation comprised of intelligent introverts and passionate extroverts, we’re not afraid to speak our minds on the issues that matter to us. And this matters to us — even if we think it doesn’t.

I’m no politician. I’ve no bias. I’ve voted for them all at some point. I’m no captain of industry with millions to lose in trade. In fact, I’ve got no real understanding of the socioeconomic effects of staying or going — but then ultimately, despite the logical machinations of the ‘for’ and ‘against’ camps, who really does? Mine is a simple perspective:

We’re in it. So let’s embrace it.

As I see it, the term ‘Brexit’ is essentially an excuse to place excessive emphasis on our need to pursue our own national destiny. But who says we can’t be both British and European?

We do.

We might be an island, but we’ve also got a superiority complex: a hangover from our colonial past. A misguided belief that Britain is somehow ‘better’ than everywhere else. But it isn’t. Nor is it particularly culturally diverse (as a whole). It’s predominantly white and middle class. And so are most European countries. We’re more alike than we’d like to think, it would seem.

In any other human setting, those with similar interests, beliefs, and issues tend to form groups, clubs, and support networks. Severing the ties to an association is a pretty bold move — one that’s usually reserved for instances of irreconcilable differences.

Some detractors may not see it that way: they may well think that withdrawing from the EU would provide some distance without negating proximity.

‘We can be like Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland (and Liechtenstein); teaming up with the EU when it suits us!’

Bullshit.

The thing is, these countries have never been part of the EU. Keeping the EU at an arm’s length after we’ve been heavily involved with it is like expecting a post-break up ex to continue to service our carnal needs, while somehow setting aside emotional investment. It might be fun for all of five minutes (literally), but it’s never gonna work long term. It’s too painful. We’re kidding ourselves.

Like any worthwhile relationship, people fall out occasionally. But something pretty monumental would have to happen to put an end to a 43 year union (yup, that’s how long the UK’s been ‘in’). And there’s nothing other than our own occasional need for some ‘alone time’ to really complain about.

Humour me for a second. Just for a moment, tune out the hype. Press ‘mute’. Forget that Cameron wants us to stay in. Ignore Boris’ bumbling Brexit propaganda. Consider — do we really want to cut the ties to a group of liked-minded nations that ultimately share our best interests?

We’ll continue to be geographically European whether we like it or not, so we need to get along with the neighbours: the Duponts; Van Dijks; Muellers; Jensens; Gonzalezs, Popescus, Christodolous et al. Can we really expect to give them a reverse ‘V’ sign, and assume they’ll continue to play nice with us?

Britain’s already enough of an anomaly. We’re already the odd foreigners we’ve long assumed the rest of the world to be. Let’s not further complicate things by confusing our need to express our strong national identity with a foolish assumption that we can stand alone.

No nation is truly an island.