I should not be writing this blog now because I do not really have the time (rushing to prepare for the annual family 10 day camping holiday down at Sennen, Cornwall and I am all behind - ha!) but I have just got back from my early morning bike ride and as usual have been thinking too much. So I am going to put this short blog down as a marker and come back to it when I have more time.
Of course Brexit is dominating everything. I feel so optimistic about it - I feel it is so badly needed for our country - such a great opportunity for our nation - but frustrated because not everyone can see it. Here is my thinking. Apology that I am using football as the tool to do so.
Simply the England football team performance at the European Football Championships was dreadful - miserable. There was evidently little or no team spirit, no cohesion, no shared common purpose, no leadership, no joy, no enthusiasm and therefore the inevitable - failure. This encapsulates where the UK has been. We do not know who we are, where we are going and who is really leading us and we are miserable as a result. We are certainly not reaching anything like our potential (apart from - maybe - in the false mantra of GDP. What is that really worth if we live in a demotivated, dehumanised and stressed society.)
Contrast this with the Welsh team - much smaller than England in terms of resources and on paper far fewer star players. They have displayed everything The English team haven't. They are a TEAM - a WELSH TEAM. Team spirit is personified. They have, strong leadership, a common ethos, a sense of purpose - a togetherness. They are enthusiastic and joy abounds - their nation is behind them. They are in the semi finals!
My point is the difference between the England and Welsh football teams is an illustration of the problems currently facing the UK. The UK has been the England football team. The UK as a country has lost an understanding of who we are, what we stand for, what defines us. There is no common purpose, and no team spirit as a result. We are one blob and we are not happy. I do not have the time to develop the arguments now - but basically I feel the root causes have been a loss of democracy to the EU project that we have never truly bought into as a cause, too much wishy washy London centric liberalism, and too much and uncontrolled inward migration.
I am hoping with the backs against the wall Brexit decision (out of adversity and having rejected both "expert" dictat and undemocratic control) we can define ourselves again, we will take charge of our own democracy and stand proudly on our own two feet and unite behind a common cause, have a clear sense of purpose and be proud of our nationhood. Lets hope we get the strong leadership right. (as an aside I see a lot of Margaret Thatcher characteristics in Theresa May.) Now back to the chores!
Of course Brexit is dominating everything. I feel so optimistic about it - I feel it is so badly needed for our country - such a great opportunity for our nation - but frustrated because not everyone can see it. Here is my thinking. Apology that I am using football as the tool to do so.
Simply the England football team performance at the European Football Championships was dreadful - miserable. There was evidently little or no team spirit, no cohesion, no shared common purpose, no leadership, no joy, no enthusiasm and therefore the inevitable - failure. This encapsulates where the UK has been. We do not know who we are, where we are going and who is really leading us and we are miserable as a result. We are certainly not reaching anything like our potential (apart from - maybe - in the false mantra of GDP. What is that really worth if we live in a demotivated, dehumanised and stressed society.)
Contrast this with the Welsh team - much smaller than England in terms of resources and on paper far fewer star players. They have displayed everything The English team haven't. They are a TEAM - a WELSH TEAM. Team spirit is personified. They have, strong leadership, a common ethos, a sense of purpose - a togetherness. They are enthusiastic and joy abounds - their nation is behind them. They are in the semi finals!
My point is the difference between the England and Welsh football teams is an illustration of the problems currently facing the UK. The UK has been the England football team. The UK as a country has lost an understanding of who we are, what we stand for, what defines us. There is no common purpose, and no team spirit as a result. We are one blob and we are not happy. I do not have the time to develop the arguments now - but basically I feel the root causes have been a loss of democracy to the EU project that we have never truly bought into as a cause, too much wishy washy London centric liberalism, and too much and uncontrolled inward migration.
I am hoping with the backs against the wall Brexit decision (out of adversity and having rejected both "expert" dictat and undemocratic control) we can define ourselves again, we will take charge of our own democracy and stand proudly on our own two feet and unite behind a common cause, have a clear sense of purpose and be proud of our nationhood. Lets hope we get the strong leadership right. (as an aside I see a lot of Margaret Thatcher characteristics in Theresa May.) Now back to the chores!
How did the family camp go David?
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