Vote to Stay: As the Longest Day (Still) Isn't Over

Vote to Stay: As the Longest Day (Still) Isn't Over

You know what? Sod the economy, stupid! The Brexit is all about idealism. There's more at stake here than house prices and jobs, much more.

22 years ago, on 6 June 1994, U.S. president Bill Clinton took part in the ceremonies commemorating the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy which cost approximately 4.500 allied service men their lives, but finally helped defeat Nazi Germany.

Clinton standing atop the cliffs of Pointe-du-hoc said some ominous words to those who survived the butchery: "You completed your mission here, but the mission of freedom goes on, the battle continues." And: "The longest day is not yet over."

And, I would argue, the sun still hasn't set on the longest day.

An aggressive form of nationalism is resurging all over the continent, in France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, the list goes on.

And many of the nations, who started the transition towards sovereign democrac rule little more than 25 years ago, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, often still seem fickle today.

The Polish, the Hungarian, the Czech, the list goes on, all urgently wanted to be part of Europe, but today can't always resist the tug of the reactionary, the pull of the illiberal.

You have your own demons, driving you 'round the bend at times, but I'm pretty sure, they will never gain the upper hand.

When you look further afield you can add even more contrast to the picture.

In 1992 after the end of the Cold War U.S. scholar Francis Fukuyama argued that there was an end to history, as the Western liberal democratic system had won over the authoritarian forms of government.

What was hard to predict then, was that quite obviously history not just has a stop but also a reverse button.

Looking at countries and regions surrounding the European Union you can't help but feel, that there has been historic regression towards authoritarianism.

Scan the horizon from East to South and the picture becomes clear: Russia, Turkey, and many countries in the Middle East, all showed promising signs of working towards joining the league of democratic states, but now have fallen back into stifling authoritarianism.

Maybe the most worrying signs of regression come from across the big pond. The most powerful ally in the fight for democracy shows worrying signs of at least flirting with demagoguery itself.

And yes, of course there are economic implications when talking about the Brexit. (The house prices and jobs.)

But look at it this way: Who truly knows what is going to happen to the British economy if Britain votes Brexit or not on June 23?

Be wary of anybody trying to serve you definitive answers, from either camp. They're as reliable as fortune-tellers consulting crystal balls.

House prices could go up or down or remain just where they are. There could be more or less or none jobs left at all.

Bear with the rest of Europe, exert your influence, and bring your deep rooted liberal democratic tradition to bear.

Blood won't be shed, though toil, tears and sweat probably will need to be invested, once again. Do the right thing on 23 June 2016, like you did in 1975.

Britain, who was the last bastion of hope in Europe over 70 years ago, cannot just leave the EU now. You cannot just say, sod this, we're done here!

Help bring the longest day to a close, once and for all, by working with Europe from within. Europe needs to stand together.

Check out other statistics and charts on the Brexit by Statista here

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