Really interesting programme on radio 4 this morning at 11am called "Belonging - What is required to create a society based on a shared sense of belonging? Douglas Alexander explores the power of stories and asks why we have run out of tales that bind."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001l7h
This is really important stuff I think. In all conversations about Brexit I'm always aware that unlike in decades past, we're no longer all agreeing about the national stories that define us, and we certainly don't have any consensus about who we want to be as a people in the future. I think our politicians haven't figured this out either and are just projecting the old stories (which are now divisive) with ever more strident voices.
If anyone else heard this radio programme I'd be interested in what they thought about it. I think it concludes that we really need politicians who can tell a story about a possible future that can bring the country together, and I remember Tony Blair being able to do this when he was first elected. I remember almost being moved to tears by one of his Labour conference speeches, although the reality never matched up. I personally get similar thrills when I hear Caroline Lucas or perhaps Mhairi Black give a speech, but the story they offer is certainly not resonating with the population at large.
Whether we end up with a no-deal hard Brexit or a soft Brexit or no Brexit, there is no way this is going to unite the nation, because either way it's locking us into a direction of travel that for some people is going to be fundamentally opposed to their deepest values. It's perhaps somewhat like a country in dictatorship - if you're with the 'in group' it's fantastic, but if you're not it's a powerless nightmare with very little hope for the future. I don't think it's hyperbole to say I feel like this about Brexit.
When I look for hope in the current situation, I have to admit that the big danger of a 2nd referendum 'remain' vote is that it just makes the populist voices stronger, and with that comes Trumpist tendencies that are anti-empathy, anti-compassion for the 'Other' - anyone not like us, and inevitably anti-women, anti-minorities of every kind. It might actually be better to burst the boil of Brexit, get it out of the national system, then perhaps we can start to look for a more positive, welcoming, environmentally-conscious and socially-inclusive national story to unite us in the future. If not, then I guess I could always move to Ireland? They've had some really positive referenda recently which have not so much transformed their nation as reflected a transformation that had already happened in hearts and minds.
Sorry for these rambling posts but I'm finding powerswitch a really helpful place to work through these issues for myself because there are people here with really strong and often well-argued views and I need to see how my feelings really bounce off the reality. As a church minister I spend a lot of time listening to people and Brexit is almost always the number 1 moan at the moment, unless it's the suffering caused by universal credit and the greater need for food banks and homeless shelters than ever before. In a way, Brexit hasn't caused division in the nation, it's just exposed the divisions that had invisibly grown up around us, and I see those divisions in the pews on whether and how much we should to charity for example, and who might be a worthy recipient. Never a day goes by without Brexit coming up in conversations on the street, and if there's one thing we can all unite on, it's that we're all sick of it dominating our national story. It's not what anyone wants to be known for.
