I could not help observing during the visit of the Orange Monster to the mother country, how a certain segment of the American population is so blind to the realities of the world that was created in the wake of World War II. And I am talking specifically of that contemptible breed of American who: 1) roots for Brexit, citing the shitty talking points from Fox about “sovereignty” and “reclaiming Britain” ( which is nothing more than an American racist dog whistle); and 2) shouting to the heavens how Trump is going to “drive the EU into the ground.” ( Actual comment I read on a Facebook post of a friend’s “friend”. ).
Tomorrow will be the 75th anniversary of D-Day. From the hindsight of history, it seems as if the success of the invasion was inevitable. At the time, however, it was not so sure; there was no guarantee the Russians would attack in the East, no guarantee the Germans would not detect the early indicators and counter-attack, and no guarantee the effort would succeed. This trailer from the movie Fatherland reminds us of what an alternate history might have been like. It would be a shame to see the gains won on D-Day squandered by short-sighted anti-EU Brexit cheerleaders.
I will have a longer post on Brexit this weekend – unless I go to Switzerland, which is a very real possibility-in which case it will be on Monday. I just want to make a quick point here:
Europe is not perfect, but it’s much better off than it was 75 years ago and has enjoyed a long period of peace and relative prosperity. We throw that away at our ( The West’s) peril.
Because the history of our future could have been much, much, different.