Brexit… moving on…
Have not posted on brexit for awhile. My anger is now spent and my position is now a simple one. I think many of those who have voted for brexit have been misled, some are just idealists, a few are romantics, some are racists, some are idiots and the rest are just plain stupid, for not acknowledging or realising how their good intentions can be hijacked by xenophobia. Good luck trying to figure out which are which. That said, I don’t believe in a second referendum, or a second chance to vote. I moved from a country that suppresses so much free speech that democracy is hardly functioning. I value democracy and the vote. Every one of us is boundedly rational when casting the vote anyway so there is no such thing as perfect information and the future, being uncertain, will always make information incomplete. So while I am angry at brexiters (and will still call them idiots), and angry at David Cameron for calling for a referendum, I accept the outcome. Even if I think its a bad decision, I acknowledge that only history will judge it for certain. Self efficacy always kicks in and in the case of Britain, whatever that (hopefully) doesn’t kill us, could make us stronger. That is how we have become the democratic society we are today.
I have many friends on facebook (especially from Asia) who crowed when markets tanked and everything became chaotic and said ‘you see? democracy does not work with those less informed or less educated’ – that is just inviting totalitarianism and i completely disagree with it. Every decision a country makes is a small speckle in its timeline. If we make a bad decision, we live with it and grow with that decision. And society emerges to become more democractic and more educated. How else can it inform itself? The referendum also brought to light how many have been marginalised and disenfranchised in Britain. Maybe a crisis is what is needed to start having genuine policies that bring them back into the fold.
From an economic standpoint, I’ve now moved on and I do want more assurances and certainty from Carney and Osborne. I’ve even started to lay out some (mental) economic plans on how Britain could have their EU cake and eat it too. And I’m pleased that there are people who have not abandoned ship, are staying on to plan for our future.
