Brexit, what’s so difficult to understand?

As someone who voted to leave the European Union, remaining in the single market was never a question. To me, leaving the EU meant leaving the union with all its good and bad. I believe, as neighbors who share a long history and many common interests, leaving was nothing more than a new chapter in our story together. An opportunity for both sides to rewrite a newer and even better deal than the one we had before.

Optimistic? Of course, I am, and many will be too if they just stopped over analyzing.

For years EU bureaucrats AKA Brussels, did what they wanted and did it their own way. Member states mostly just listened and obeyed. Some, because they felt it was a huge privilege to become members of the union – they were so grateful for anything their membership afforded them. Others didn’t see a way out or even cared enough for change, so they accepted the status quo and bought into the adage of ‘stay and reform from within’.

Not Britain. The British are very different and here’s the rub. For years, the UK was frustrated with the union and the way things were done. All they could see is a bureaucracy that was out of control with unmanaged finances, unbalanced budgets and an unjust and unyielding central régime. It saw increased centralisation, future for an EU Army and greater integration with even more control over member sovereignty, and did not like it. Most of all it did not like paying for and subsiding other economies at the expense of their own.

All along, Brussels knew all that, yet when Prime Minster Cameron, who believed in the union and hoped to keep the UK in it, came to them with the simplest of demands they send him home empty-handed. That prompted many Brits, myself included to vote to leave it.

I explained at the start of this article why I never expected us to remain in the single market. I don’t think I am alone in my thinking, but do understand why not everyone shares my thinking. First, change is not always easy and many don’t like it. People don’t like change not for lack of vision or adventure, but because of the uncertainty it brings and there are many who don’t know how to handle that uncertainty. To fear or doubt an unknown is a normal and understandable feeling. In fact, within reason fear is a healthy feeling, as it forces us to stop and think before we act. Which can sometimes save us from making mistakes. Yet, what I see from some Remainers is not fear of the unknown, nor caution before acting. It is much more than that. It is a rejection of the will of the people and total disrespect of their vote. That’s neither healthy nor fair and its ramifications can be very serious. I hope they rethink their attitude.