Folly Over Brexit

The British are members of the European Union. They are in close proximity to the other European nations, share history with and of the entire region, and provide a formidable economic presence among equals. They belong in the EU.

By way of misdirected nationalism, British voters questioned the balance between their nation and the rest of the EU. In a fit of pique, they voted to separate from the EU. Thus was coined the term Brexit, for the exit of Britain. Brexit – clever.

With the vote, opinion and pique were known. Aired. Broadcast to the world. But the real work lay ahead. How does one go about separating the nation from the EU? Complicated contracts, agreements and treaties have been a common part of the Union to make the machinery of trade, law and shared bits and pieces of governance work. To fashion the separation, much complexity has to be dismantled, severed.

Over the past year or so British Prime Minister Theresa May has had the unenviable task of doing just that. Negotiating an agreement of separation more complicated than a marital divorce. And just as emotional. Instead of having help from her countrymen, she has been challenged to make everyone happy with the process. That task is impossible.

One does not just walk away from a marriage without consequences. Legal, social and honor. All are part of the marriage pact. Severing it is not simple. Walking away creates more headaches and legal entanglements that will strangle the nation for generations to come. That’s why an orderly withdrawal is necessary. And that is precisely what PM May has negotiated. No simple fix to a multi-faceted treaty. She does not control it. Nor does any one other nation control it. It is a massive complexity that the voters simply did not understand.

Now it is there’s to discern what to do. The Prime Minister is not the problem. The politicians and citizens are. The problem. They need to own it. To fix the problem.

They won’t because they are lazy. They will not do the hard work needing to be done to make things work better.

Sounds familiar to me. Cousin America is in a similar fix. The need to be better but few willing to do the hard work to make it so.

Pity, that.

December 14, 2018