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Today Dominic Lawson wrote an interesting and amusing article in the Independent called “Europe will always be a foreign land for the British”. It was interesting in that he was ‘observing’ a situation rather than promoting such a view but it is worth looking at for the comments that came in the majority of which were rather rancid and well wide of the topic.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/dominic-lawson/dominic-lawson-europe-will-always-be-a-foreign-land-for-the-british-1826457.html

My Comment Was

A very amusing article that takes a light hearted view of a current ’story’ – Mr Rompuy, sadly rather lost on quite a number of commentators here who take themselves far too seriously for their own good.

Yes there is a large grain of truth in it particularly when one looks at the idea of us being an island and other countries having ‘invisible borders’. Many years ago whilst staying with friends in the Netherlands, they were talking about the psychological impacts of this, particularly on the smaller countries that had been overrun in WWII in terms of their internal politics and relations with their neighbours. How coalitions and consensus were the natural result rather than the UK’s and US’s Adversarial Politics based upon black and white extremes.

For me at the time it put things into a different perspective because of course apart from the Channel Islands, the UK was never invaded but equally, the UK had to ’stand alone’ for some years against the Nazis, rely on itself at ‘home’ whilst also supporting operations in the Middle and Far East.

The Tuning Fork of History

For Continental countries and the UK, both these things have a resonance like an invisible tuning fork right across generations. It was the Normans who effectively created England as a unified entity following the invasion of 1066 and whilst there were close connections with France, even as early as the reign of King John and the signing of Magna Carta, England had started going its own way which eventually would lead to a small country that prospered by global trade simply because being surrounded by water, having good sailors was a natural consequence.

That in turn bought “opportunities for the adventurous Celts, though not so much the “stay at home” ones. It is quite funny looking back on 12 years of Labour and every other one in Cabinet being a Scot and yet in the rather short period of ‘Empire’, Scots were very prevalent then too !

Looking Ahead

The most important thing for both the UK and “Continental Europe” is that Britain is both economically and militarily viable because it is that which has served both sides well over the centuries as a political ‘balance’. Whether the UK is part of the EU is totally irrelevant and on balance, likely better we are not we are different and that just needs to be accepted all round without all this bad tempered name calling by the Pro and Anti EU mobs which is childish.

Yes we are a “European” country but we are not the same and that is a natural state of play evolved over a very long period of time that works for both parties, as they say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

A Bit of Flack…

I had some idiot who decided to be rather childish and that necessitated a suitable response, as below and yes, I do hate total twats who do exactly that kind of name calling.

Reply to an Idiot

If you read what I wrote earlier and assuming you have the ability to comprehend, one of the key points that I made and have done so frequently for a number of years is the childish name calling by both the “Pro and Anti EU” Lobbies.

The issue needs to be looked at rationally not “Oooh, just listen to the europhobe squeal…”

Most of the comments on this board are just like yours and fit into that category too and that is a shame and a waste of space but it happens. Often both these and other boards get taken over by people with a Bee in their bonnets about one thing or another and their content is barely connected with the original article.

The attitude that says “Because you don’t say the things I like to say and hear, you are a….” belongs in the playground where perhaps you might well have stayed and remained happy.