Thoughts
and Ideas from Greece
June – 2016
Most people vote in elections according to what they think is best personally for them - or rather what is best for themselves. So what is
best for the one’s self in the English referendum this June 2016 – to vote for Britain to stay in the European Union
(EU), or to vote to leave the EU and ‘Brexit’ ?
I think Socrates would say that it all depends on what
the ‘self’ actually is. (Know Thyself)
I have just attended the wedding of an old friend of mine in
Poland. It was a wonderful few days – and on the last night I was there – a small
group of wedding guests went out for a final drink together. One young man, who
I had not met previously, persisted in asking me which way I would vote in the
Brexit EU vote – and seemed to get more and more angry when I continued to say when asked that I was
not that bothered either way about the vote, and that it would not make a lot
of difference to me whatever the result.
It seems to be normal (or fashionable) these days to be on one
end of the spectrum of opinion on any debate – either very much for something
or very much against it. I think the media encourages us to have polarised opinions. However, most things, including the EU stay or Brexit
vote have pros and cons either way. There are advantages and disadvantages of Britain staying in the EU; and there are advantages and disadvantages of leaving - or at least this is what I
tried to explain to the young man. The sensible position, as far as I was and indeed am concerned, was on the fence –
and that probably it would not make a great deal of difference in the end either
way. (Don’t worry – you will still be able to go to France for you holidays and
buy German cars if we leave the EU - and you will not have to drink Greek coffee if we stay...)
In the end we both agreed – most people will vote for what they believe or perceive is best for them selves…… Unfortunately, the media coverage
of this EU Brexit vote, like so many other important issues, is a marketing
exercise to vote one way or another, and very dependent on soundbites. People
might vote to leave the EU because: ‘… the immigrants are taking all the jobs’,
and other people might vote to stay in the EU because: ‘… we won’t be able to play European
cup football if we leave’ or ‘… the French security services won’t tell us
about terrorists if we leave…’ So most
of the ideas and soundbites we are getting from the media are complete nonsense anyway: just take your pick
on the soundbites and vote as you see fit...
The young man seemed at a complete loss at my outlook – how could anyone be so uncaring
and not have a strong view at either end of the spectrum on such an important issue as whether Britain should stay in the EU or not. He then began to try and bolster his position by mentioning the important ‘ethics’ of the matter – and that people must and should care about such things – and that since
we were in Krakow (just a short drive from Auschwitz) I was obliged to take a
moral stance on the matter. Personally, I could not see how the inhumanity perpetrated
at Auschwitz was related to the EU Brexit vote – but if it was – surely that
was a convincing reason to stay in the EU? (I should have mentioned that this young man was vehemently in favour of Britain leaving the EU. )
I tried to explain to the young man that the EU Brexit vote
did not concern me much because I was more interested in questions like
whether I had a soul or not, whether it was immortal, and whether the kind of
life I live with this human body makes any difference at all to what happens to
my soul when my human body dies. Well, this really got his feathers ruffled –
and he informed me with complete certainty that we had no soul and it was all to
do with science, and that we were just an electrical network in the brain…..
Friends who know me well will see the trap he had just fallen in to…..
So I asked him just to clarify the discussion so far….
- What you actually are, according to you, is a bundle of
electrical networks in the brain?
- Yes, he replied
- And in the EU Brexit vote you will be voting, like most
other people, for what is best for you?
- Yes, he agreed
- So is it better for your bundle of electrical networks in
the brain to vote for Britain to leave the EU or to stay?
He did not answer, and walked off in a huff; but I believe he
began to understand why I do not think it makes a lot of difference what happens (to me or anyone else) on June 23 rd when the British people ‘supposedly’ vote to stay in
the EU or leave.
The above piece is no indication of whether I will vote to
leave or stay – since as I suggest I am on the fence and can see advantages and
disadvantages of voting either either way. I do however feel that Angela Merkel and her German
colleagues have got too powerful within the EU power base – and I am coming
around to voting for Britain to leave the EU simply in order to re-set the
balance of power within the European corridors of power. This I feel is very important in the longer
term for 'everyone' in Europe – including the Greeks, Italians, Spanish etc as
well as the people of Britain; and after all the above conversation did take place in Krakow. And in a way... maybe the young man was right; we should care - but we must not allow the media to trivialise and confuse the discussion with its inane soundbites dished out every evening on the news channels as we eat our evening meals.
