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| [ Login ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, [7], 8, 9, 10 ] |
| Subject: Yes, and then they carefully join the losing side. | |
Author: Ed Harris (Venezia) | [ Next Thread |
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] Date Posted: 22:42:27 11/22/04 Mon In reply to: Ian (Australia) 's message, "Italy is sending troops? but they never commit until they know who the winner is, do they?" on 22:16:49 11/22/04 Mon But you know, it's interesting, these remarks about political opinion. Yes, of course, people are more interested in Pop Idol and the figure of the girl on Page Three than what Miss Western called "affairs of state", but whenever it comes to Europe people are hostile. If referenda were held tomorrow, or ever, on the Eurodollar and the EU constitution, Britain would vote No. The confusing thing is that, whenever a Euro-election vote is held, this is clearly what they do say. Note the results of the latest EEC elections in Britain. I was home for the campaigning, and went around pubs distributing UKIP beermats. I did this in the West Midlands and East Midlands regional divisions, and I'd walk into a pub, ask the landlord or landlady if they minded, and they'd look up from their Sun or News of the World with suspicion and even hostility, and ask, "who for [sic]?" I'd say UKIP, and light would come into their eyes and they say, "Sure, we'll have those. Got any more?" But then, when it comes to national elections, they consistently vote for the pro-EU party. They seem to distinguish totally between the purpose of national votes and the purpose of EEC votes. In a way, this is healthy, as it demonstrates that the only time they care about Europe is when they have an opportunity to object to it. On the other hand, it is discouraging, as it shows a lack of understanding of just how immediate the threat is. Ten or twenty years ago it was safe to separate the two, since the EEC had fewer teeth back then. But now, if we want to object to Europe, we have to do it at a national level, because it has penetrated so far into the national sphere. But which party is prepared to campaign on the European issue primarily? It is the most important issue facing us today, and yet we hear a lot of tedious drivel about the NHS, the hunting bill, crime, schools, etc. If we don't do something soon then all these things, however important they are, will be beyond our control anyway; so even if you imagine that these are the most important political debates, we have to leave Europe first or they will be debated and decided for us by a polyglot bureaucracy which meets in secret in a foreign capital. Until people understand this - that domestic and European questions are not distinguishable in any real sense - then however Eurosceptic the British public is or becomes, we will be unable to get rid of a Europhile government by the ordinary democratic means. People, they say, get the governments which they deserve. I hope that this is not true, or else we're in serious trouble! [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: I can just imagine the French pushing through a bill to defend their liberty by outlawing religious and cultural symbols in Europe and banning the use of the English language... | |
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Author: Roberdin [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 23:21:28 11/22/04 Mon [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: Yes indeed... the French do tend to do the Wrong Thing for the Right Reasons... | |
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Author: Ed Harris (Venezia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 23:31:56 11/22/04 Mon [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: BUT! | |
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Author: Ed Harris (Venezia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 00:05:40 11/23/04 Tue It is becoming clear that English is the only practical lingua franca for the European Union. I have heard it used in the Euro 'Parliament' by people of various nationalities. I like to tell the story of how, in India, I met a Hispanophone Columbian guy and two Portuguese girls - and they could only communicate in English! The Mediterranean countries and the new members from Eastern Europe seem to have no problem with this. Their motivation to play a role in Europe is entirely based on practical self-interest, and not the paranoiac fear of cultural decay which motivates France, Germany, the Low Countries and Scandinavia. The Franco-German axis is going to have a real fight on its hands if it tries to exclude English as the de facto primary language in Europe, because the other members simply will not understand why: it makes sense, so why not use it? QED. They just can't understand that the Franco-German European Dream is based not on practicality but on fear: the fear of decline, of irrelevance, of marginalisation. It is also based on embitteredness: their ideas, their values, their politics, their aspirations, have been held up to competition with the English-speaking world and have been shown to be unworkable, dysfunctional, self-destructive, obsolete and uncompetitive. But if history has taught us anything, it is that wounded animals are the most dangerous. If they go down (which they certainly will), they are determined to take us with them. Their pride will allow for nothing less. [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: the words "deckchairs" and "Titanic" spring to mind | |
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Author: Ian (Australia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 23:27:30 11/22/04 Mon [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: Don't believe Hollywood | |
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Author: Ed Harris (Venezia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 23:35:35 11/22/04 Mon Many people survived the Titanic - and so did the White Star company, which went on to launch many other even bigger, more iceberg-proof vessels; and the only one of which sank was the Lusitania, which was torpedoed by Germans, which doesn't count... But whatever Leonard Caprio and Kate Winslet might make you believe, the passengers and crew of the Titanic went out down with their national dignity, courage and pride intact. I only hope that when the time comes for me, like Cato, to put an end to it all along with my country's freedoms, Britain will be remembered for the right reasons. [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |