Although there is the opposite point of view as well; why should the left fall into the patriotic trap? If one is internationalist, globalist by nature; if one looks outward and sees the world as, ideally, a community of equals, and views place of birth as mere happenstance, then how much mileage can they really wring out of patriotic rhetoric without coming across as insincere? Surely it's better to try and take people with you to higher ground than attempt to slum it?
I do agree with you and alonsoisared about the tenor of discussion, though. Though I'm not sure it's a left problem so much as a general one. Hostility and rancour and belligerence and 'take downs' and 'shaming' etc have monopolised the conversational strategies in recent years, esp. on social media
Absolutely. And yet...
You'd fit in brilliantly at the Guardian with the "I blame Remainers for the shitshow that is Brexit" perspective.
Where was the positive, internationalist, outward looking voice in the Remain campaign?
Just checked the Britain Stronger In Europe official remain campaign website. Headline reasons to vote remain:
- More jobs
- Lower prices
- Workers rights
Hmmm, ok. Not much there for the comfortably retired, or those who have come to expect any jobs bonanza to be in the south east rather than Hartlepool, and still actually based on a heavily implied "... compared to the disaster of leaving...".
What else?
Martin Lewis: "I'm generally risk averse, and that pushes me just towards an IN vote for safety."
Inspirational, I'm sure you'll agree. On the front page, no less. Maybe there was more on their 'news' feed?
- Political leaders, academics, economists and business leaders (yep, pretty much 'the elite') say we're Stronger In
- British business 'benefits massively' from EU
- Some celebrities think we're Stronger In
- Trade Unions think we're Stronger In
- The patriotic case for staying in
- More celebrities
- Bear Grylls
- "Don't wake up to bad news the morning after..."
There was no broad and coherent positive, optimistic narrative for Remaining. The leave campaign's attack on 'project fear' struck home not because the points the remainers made were false, but that they were
negative. That's partly a problem with the way the referendum was set of course, as it's easier to argue for change than not. But the attempt was pitiful, regardless.
A better (and more involved) articulation of the point, from a couple of months after the referendum defeat:
http://www.commongrounduk.com/2016/08/31/why-britain-should-lead-the-eu-not-leave-it/The Czechs say a pessimist is an optimist who has just seen the news. I know the feeling. Away on holiday I glimpsed the news. Rise in race hate. NHS facing cuts. The pound falling. Investment stalling. A Dept for Brexit. A mini EU summit highlighting Britain’s new found irrelevance.
But I’m optimistic even now about Britain in Europe. Why? Because there is a big, bold, optimistic argument to make for Britain in Europe. It is a streetwise and patriotic case – with a populist edge. Made with conviction, it might even – one day – be a vote winner. Unfortunately it’s a case that has hardly ever been made but if we are to have any chance at all of staying in the EU, it’s a case we now have to make: Britain should be leading in Europe, not leaving it.
Full disclosure, I worked with Gordon Brown on a short online film arguing this case. Very few politicians saw the need for a big positive vision – something more than the Project Fear. Caroline Lucas was one exception, and so was Gordon Brown. His short film got nearly 5 million views – the most watched online film of the campaign, and a sign perhaps of the hunger for a positive vision for Britain in Europe? The New Statesman he guest edited is packed with new thinking.
Language matters. “Remain” was a fatally defensive mouse of a word. Has anyone ever been inspired by a call to “remain”? “Leave” by contrast was packed with the promise of change. And where Brexit campaigners promised cunningly to “Take back control” Remain mumbled verblessly about “Stronger In”. “Lead not leave” is strong and clear. It points to Britain at its best – internationalist and engaged with the world. It should have been on signs, T-shirts, flags, and on everyone’s lips.___
Stronger In. Didn't mean much to those who feel weak as a result of nearly a decade of austerity at that time, or a lifetime of economic progress focused on the south east - or indeed to those who actually remember (or remember when it was a recent memory) when we were undoubtedly stronger, with an Empire no less, and were encouraged to draw the simple conclusion of "... before we joined the EU". One of the reasons for the constant appeals to a wartime spirit of the Blitz, of course. When we really were stronger.
The Remain campaign was dreadful and is indeed to blame. Blaming Leavers is pointless and defeatist. "They lied and broke electoral rules". Yeah, no one cares. The only thing Remainers could have done (and perhaps still might do) is to actually make a better case.