Cold Turkey

Last week, approximately 52% of Brits voted to "Leave" the European Union in a national referendum.  They did so peacefully and democratically.  Already, 23 June 2016 is being hailed as Britain's "Independence Day."

I've written several posts about Brexit recently (here, here, and here).  Last Friday's post, which I wrote as the results were coming in Thursday evening, explored why liberty--a vote for "Leave"--was worth the price of temporary economic disruption and, too, of giving up certain "benefits" bestowed to EU citizens.

(A quick aside:  I still find it interesting that a supranational organization that originated as an economic free trade zone evolved into an entity capable of forcing twenty-some-odd nation-states to pool sovereignty; didn't Europe fight two world wars to prevent Germany from ruling the Continent?  But I digress.)

Based on several comments on my Facebook page, and from personal conversations, it seems that some of my pro-Remain friends and colleagues missed this point, or very candidly admitted that national sovereignty and liberty are not worth the price of sweet EU bennies (one colleague--a reluctant Brit--discounted the entire "Leave" campaign as fundamentally xenophobic and racist, implying that those alleged qualities alone invalidated the entire movement).  To the latter contingent, I can only hope we can agree to disagree.  To the former, allow me to address some points.

"[D]idn't Europe fight two world wars to prevent Germany from ruling the Continent?"

One poster discussed at length that Brits have "become VERY accustomed to the benefits," and that, whether they are in the EU or not, they "will still be governed, regulated, and heavily taxed by their own government but no longer enjoy the goodies that come with EU membership!"

Consider, if you will, a drug addict.  Let's say someone addicted to heroin seeks treatment and begins taking daily doses of methadone.  Would we say, "Oh, well, sure he's off heroin, but he's still chemically dependent on methadone, and now he's missing out on the sweet high that only heroin can provide"?  Or would we continue to encourage this recovering addict to kick his methadone habit, too, and restore a sick, dependent body to healthy independence?

Quit me cold... and don't let me in the European Union.

(Source:  http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=28721&picture=turkey)

Generous government benefits--whether they come from the EU or the British government--might come with some nice "perks" (every pro-Remainer I've talked to seems preoccupied with the ability to travel freely through Europe, something most of us plebes haven't had the luxury of doing without a passport; this, to me, seems to be the definition of a "First World Problem"), but those "goodies" come at a price.  The British people have freely said, "Thanks, but no thanks."

Naturally, there will be those who will start jonesing for cheap travel opportunities to economically depressed parts of Southern Europe, where they can live out leisurely, government-funded retirements.  There will also be everyday people who still find themselves frustrated by high taxes and tight regulations, and missing out on certain opportunities afforded them by EU membership.

"The Brits have thrown off one level of bureaucracy because... they realized it was not worth the cost."

But is the solution more regulations and higher taxes?  The Brits have thrown off one level of bureaucracy because, despite the redistribution of wealth it brought (which mostly went away from productive countries like Britain and Germany and to profligate nations like Greece), they realized it was not worth the cost.  One of two things will now happen:  either Brits will demand further deregulation and reform of their own government, which will further ease their burdens and lower costs; or they will make an oft-repeated mistake and demand more redistribution and more taxpayer-funded goodies.

Crucially, though, the choice will be theirs to make.

Leaving the European Union will be like tearing off a bandage.  It will hurt like hell initially--we're already seeing the effect on markets, which can't stand uncertainty--but the pain will be fleeting (as I've argued in my earlier posts on the topic).

Similarly, any nation facing heavy regulations and stifling taxes can pursue a similar course--if it hasn't become too hooked already.  "Austerity" failed in Greece not because it demanded that the Greek government stop paying janitors wages comparable to skilled tradesmen; it failed because the Greek government couldn't kick its habit (and because austerity required tax increases, not stimulating decreases).  The nation--and the Greek people--have become so dependent upon handouts, they can no longer function without huge bailouts from wealthier nations.  That dependency will only perpetuate the cycle of addiction.

The best approach is not more dependency--more bureaucracy, more social programs, more taxes--but quitting cold turkey.  Rip off the Band-Aid, then get back to being free... or end up like Greece.

(Some parting notes:  to shield myself from slander and libel, let me make it clear that no xenophobia is intended or implied--I hope the Greeks can lift themselves out of poverty, which would be much easier if Germany had let them leave the European Union a year ago.  In this Wednesday's post, I'll discuss what might happen next now that Britain has voted to leave the EU.  That will likely be my last post on Brexit for awhile, as we return to the American scene.  --TPP)

Created by Philosophy

Near the end of my last post, I included a quotation from the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.  To recap, it was her famous dictum that "Europe was created by history.  America was created by philosophy."  What exactly does that mean, and why is it important?

As I also pointed out in my last post, European nationality (and, by extension, the European nation-state) is built on notions of blood and soil.  In other words, being French means you are descended from a group of people broadly defined as "French" and you reside within the French "hexagon" (or at least claim that as your home).  Obviously, not every European nation-state still pursues this model--in some cases to their detriment--but some, like Italy, strenuously do.

 Now that is one sophisticated hexagon.

(Source:  http://ian.macky.net/pat/map/fr/fr.html)

(Post-colonialism, being "French" includes many people outside of this geographic region, and now the French would more broadly define their nationality through shared language and culture--a model that moves closer to what I perceive to be the American model of nationalism).

In the United States--or, more specifically, in colonial British North America--Americans had a unique opportunity to define their national identity far more broadly.  Indeed, one could argue Americans did so out of necessity:  colonial British North America was a tapestry of cultures, languages, and ethnic groups.  Most hailed from the British Isles and Northern Europe, but the 18th century saw large influxes of Germanic and Scotch-Irish immigrants, not to mention the unfortunate forced immigration of the trans-Atlantic African slave trade.  Most were Protestant of various stripes--the German settlers in particular brought a rich and baffling array of spiritualism and religiosity to a young America--but Catholics and even a small number of Jews also made the trek to the colonies.

The massive Irish and German immigration brought by the Irish Potato Famine and the failed democratic revolutions of 1848, respectively, brought even more diversity to the land at that point known as the United States, and so-called "New Immigration" after the Civil War saw immigrants from Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Greece, and beyond.

By the time those "New Immigrants" began arriving in the 1870s until the tide was stemmed in the 1920s, the United States had already developed a model for nationality born of its colonial experience.  Indeed, the young United States proclaimed its nationality at the very moment it proclaimed its independence from Great Britain.

In writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson laid down the framework for what it means to be an American.  Jefferson, like all of the Founding Fathers, believed in the universal rights of men, rights derived not from any worldly, temporal authority, but from God Himself.  Every civics student is familiar with the ringing declaration that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."  Herein we see the roots of American values, birthed through the centuries by the tenacity of independent-minded Englishmen and bolstered by the more admirable claims of the Enlightenment.

However, many modern readers miss the first paragraph of the Declaration, which opens with the phrase "When in the Course of human events...."  This seemingly innocuous phrase holds within it deep wells of significance.  Jefferson here is saying that these ideals and rights are not specific to one place or one time.  The "human" here refers, rather, to all of humanity.  The phrase "in the Course of human events" refers to the timeless quality of these values--the self-evident truths of the Declaration apply yesterday, tomorrow, and forever--ad infinitum.

Thomas Jefferson, Babe Magnet

(Source:  http://diplomacy.state.gov/discoverdiplomacy/explorer/peoplehistorical/178286.htm)

This simple phrase, then, goes a long way in explaining why the young United States was able to hold together in spite of its broad diversity of ethnic groups and religions, while the similarly diverse Austro-Hungarian Empire, which attempted to balance the interests of different ethnic groups by favoring some and oppressing others, ultimately collapsed.  The universal truths of the Declaration, espousing universal rights bestowed by the very Creator of the universe, give all men the opportunity to live their lives as they wish, confident in their liberty and free to pursue happiness and fulfillment as they please.

No doubt this philosophy of God-given liberty has bolstered the United States economically, allowing it become the richest, most prosperous nation on Earth--surely a carrot for future and continued immigration.  Ultimately, however, the most successful and fulfilled Americans, both native-born and immigrant, are those that come to embrace the core philosophy of the American experience.

A sad note in parting:  the increasing ignorance of these God-given rights, and the increasing balkanization of the American nationhood into favored classes and victim groups as a result of said ignorance, is undermining the universal vision of the Founders.  America today looks more and more like the Austro-Hungarian Empire of the early 20th-century:  decadent and splendid on the surface, but torn by internal turmoil and ethnic strife within.

To avoid a similar state, the United States must make a concerted effort to revive the Founders' understanding of the American philosophy enshrined in the Declaration of Independence.