Brexit Day

At 12 AM (midnight) CET tonight, January 31^st, 2020, the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.

In commemoration of this solemn occasion Bock MacMillan, the Much Honored Laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls, etc, etc, has issued the following statement.

"A slim majority of Britons voted to leave the European Union in a referendum in 2016 (51,89%) and again in the general election 2019, which was to a great extent focused on the Brexit issue. The Conservative party (who supported Brexit), won 365 of the 650 seats in the Parliament, thus a very comfortable majority. 

In my opinion, it is a sad occasion which I believe the Brits will come to regret. To me, the EU has always mainly stood for a peace project. An effort to bring together "the usual suspects" (i.e. Germany, France United Kingdom, and Italy) and the smaller European countries to work on joint projects and solutions of common issues with the goal of peaceful coexistence in the longterm. 

It is unfortunate that the UK now leaves the community due to a resurgence of nationalism, populism, and isolationism. The question of whether the Brits have been misinformed or lead astray is now moot. We must accept the results of their will as it has been clearly expressed. 

I wish the Brits all the best for the future."

We Will Survive!

I stayed up all night yesterday, following the elections in the USA. I was engulfed in a weird unreal feeling as time passed by. This couldn't be happening, it wasn't supposed to happen...

Well, it did happen and we must accept the results, however devastated or petrified we feel about them at this moment for the future of the American people or the world. An isolationist America is not what the world needs and we cannot let America slip into the grasp of the Russian bears warm and welcoming hug.

The election revealed an extremely divided America. Whites against people of color, men against women, old against young, uneducated against educated, straight against LGBT. Even the winners, the Republicans are severely divided. There is much that has been gained over the last 25 years that is at risk of being lost, universal health care (whatever deficiencies that still remain to be  corrected), same-sex marriages, a woman's right to decide what happens with her body, family planning etc., etc.

But I still remain hopeful and believe and hope that my American friends and family - after the first initial shock and devastation has ebbed out - will cooperate and form alliances to fight back at every turn and every step of the way.

The rest of us must encourage them and give them whatever support we can. The dinosaurs and the macho white supremacists will not prevail.

At the risk of being perceived as extremely cheesy...