All of them hold one quality. Prestige. Few evaluate them on what they actually say. It's who they are that carries weight. From them we've had a torrent of fear mongering, dishonesty, sanctimony, double-dealing and betrayal.
These people don't care about the British economy. They don't care about you. It is an entirely self-serving orthodoxy. It is a political consensus between those who have the power. And don't tell me Corbyn is a man of the people. In the end he turned on his beliefs in defence of the establishment. He's their man now. And so is Varoufakis - the anti-austerity posterboy. He's been whipped into line.
And what we've had from the Remain camp is nothing but lies, distortions, and cheating. They have their corporate-speak rationales for doing what they do, but they know it's wrong. Any lie will do. They conflate Europe with the EU, conflate the EU with the single market, maintain the illusion that Brussels makes the rules, and maintain the lie that the European parliament is somehow a manifestation of democracy.
They've paid off the universities and made them dependents. They've made supplicants of charities, local authorities, farmers and NGOs. Many of them in their own way being uniquely shafted, but in the end vote with their wallets. They've got the simpering BBC on their side doing their bidding, keeping up a thin veil of neutrality but excluding the new ideas that may upset the applecart. They've even thrown generous regional development grants at multinationals.
The EU has spread its red gold across the continent - funding this project and that scheme, supporting international exchanges and generally making people feel that the project is a great big cuddly Father Christmas spreading joy and happiness. Very different from the stern and questioning national and local governments.
And because it's dressed in the soft garb of progressivism and has embraced the corporate cult of climate change it has the unquestioning devotion of the left. I have lost count of the number of times a leftist has told me that leaving the EU means the Tories might be free to do something they don't like. You can't expect a leftist to speak up for democracy now.
The establishment has sewn it all up - and it's not going to let a little thing like a referendum get in the way. Everybody who depends on the establishment must crawl out of the woodwork to pile on the fear. They must do their bit. The established order very much is threatened by Brexit and is now in full self-preservation mode. Democracy is a very real threat to their consensus. Democracy is too disruptive, and it's better if the "experts" hold dominion. The people having a say might mean that their sacred cows are not fed oodles of taxpayers money.
Then take a long hard look at all these smarmy anodyne grandees. Most of them have ceremonial roles in the UN or sinecures in the EU or some position in the power structure. Either that or they are in a position to benefit from governments who do not answer to their people in any meaningful way. All part of that club where nobody retires without a few million to their name. In every way the establishment has conspired to marginalise voices of opposition with a sneering condescension.
In every way, the public are shut out of policy making and told that their sacrifices are for the common good and that we should bow before our superiors - for they are the experts on how to run our lives.
And that's why many Brexiteers are angry ogres. We've had decades of their rule, decades of their orthodoxy and no means to challenge their political dominance. We've been watching and waiting for years. Watching as successive governments have ceded ever more power, ever more control and have insulated themselves from the wishes of the public. Well, now we've got our referendum. And now we see just how deeply the game is rigged.
So we're angry to say the least. Angry at what has been done to us, done in our name, and angry that once again democracy is being trampled on to preserve the orthodoxy. And we do not take kindly to being lied to.
There's an old saying that politics is between you, me and the swamp. Minorities on either side, playing games for the votes in the middle. But unlike classic politics, this is not a left vs right dispute. There are only those above the line and those below the line. Those who have the power and those who do not. In this estimation, the establishment holds all of the cards. It has always known a challenge to its legitimacy would one day come which is why it set out to bribe institutions in advance.
We Brexiteers on the other hand have what we have. An angry rabble with keyboards. And let's face it, none of us are ever going on the front cover of Vogue. We're a bunch of griping, moaning angry people who seem to hate just about everyone in politics and everything they do. We're not helped by a pretty shoddy Leave campaign either, with some fairly odious spokesmen.
We are irredeemably spit. We all hate each other. I despise the Toryboys and I loathe Ukip. I hate all political tribalism. I'm not a joiner of clans. But there's one thing that unites us all. All of us can articulate a better definition of democracy than any of those would would have us remain in the EU - and though we can't seem to agree on coherent Brexit plan, we all know what democracy is, why we should have it and crucially why the EU is the absolute opposite of it.
And that's why this referendum really settles nothing. The Remainers will play their little games, steal the referendum and carry on as before; feathering their own nests and consolidating their power. But we're not going anywhere. We're not giving up. And we are taking names. Us Brexiteers hold deep grudges. We are in it for the duration.
We will remember Cameron the fraud. We will remember Hague and Corbyn as turncoats. We will remember the frauds like Boris Johnson who used the cause for their own advancement. We will remember the parasites who had their fingers in the till. We will remember all those hacks and policy wonks who twisted the truth. We will not forget what was done here. And unlike 1975 - we have a full record of who said what. The internet never forgets.
In fact, we are going to be pure poison. If you thought the SNP were sore losers, you ain't seen nothing. A remain vote will ensure domestic politics remains permanently toxic. While these part timers waft into to the Brexit debate with their tedious rhetoric about Brexiteers being little englanders and xenophobes, and venting their empty rhetoric of cooperation and internationalism, we have been here from the beginning. Will be here at the end.
You can stifle an idea, but you can't kill one. Especially not that seemingly antiquated notion that the people should be able to refuse their government. The EU may be powerful but it is not stronger than the desire for democracy. And if it takes another generation to get what we want then that is what we will do. There is only one way this fight ends - Britain leaving the European Union. We will either do it amicably and by the book - or we will do it some other way. The general public may well go back into their political slumber, but we Brexiteers will be back - and in between, we are going to cause merry hell.
No comments:
Post a Comment