Wednesday 29 March 2017

Speaking in tongues

OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration; the words which the Prime Minister uses aren’t in any of those horrid foreign languages, they’re generally in English.  But that doesn’t make them any more comprehensible; there are times when she might just as well be speaking in tongues.
At the very beginning, we had the now well-worn “Brexit means Brexit”, followed by the idea of a “red, white, and blue Brexit”.  They didn’t mean anything at the time, and their lack of meaning is as unmistakeable now as it was then.  Two weeks ago, we had the mantra “now is not the time” repeated robotically in response to any and every question about a second Scottish independence referendum, and this week, we had another meaningless utterance claiming that the UK is “one of the greatest forces for good in the world today” and referring to it as an “unstoppable force”.  Am I alone in wondering what she and her speechwriter are taking?
Best leave aside the utter confusion and uncertainty in her use of the terms ‘nation’ and ‘country’; sometimes it’s the component parts of the UK whilst at others it’s the whole; and this doesn’t just change from day to day, it’s inconsistent even in the same speech.  There is one thing, though, on which she is clear and consistent, and that is that she will brook no dissent over Brexit  She imperiously demands that everyone else should follow her example and start proclaiming that the earth is in fact flat, despite what they might have believed a few short months ago.  She might have felt (or at least she said she did) only ten months ago that Brexit was a silly idea, but with the zeal of the convert she now insists that it’s altogether a splendid idea and that anyone who disagrees is both unpatriotic and disloyal.
We’ve had similar sentiments expressed by her branch officer in Cardiff this week, who said that reports from experts setting out some of the problems were ‘tiresome’, and more-or-less suggested that the experts really should try harder to produce reports supporting Brexit instead of undermining it.  Both of them are only interested in hearing from those who support their position, and want everyone else to shut up and go away.  Of course, no one can force them to listen to dissenting voices; if they prefer to heed the promises of alchemists rather than listen to the advice of proper chemists, that’s a matter for them.  But the attempt to dismiss or even silence opposing opinions, using a referendum victory as some sort of trump card against facts that they don’t like, is a tendency which should worry us.
When the empress parades naked, the duty of good citizens is not to marvel at the splendour of the outfit but to draw attention to its complete absence.  And, to mix the metaphors, if a force which foolishly believes itself to be unstoppable is headed directly towards an immovable object, devising fallacious arguments about why it really isn’t unmoveable rather than telling the truth isn’t the most helpful or friendly response, even if it’s the one they want.

4 comments:

Neilyn said...

I almost felt physically sick listening to the vacuous, chest-thumping drivel coming out of Theresa May's mouth at lunchtime today (Claptrap means claptrap?). Once again, the arrogance and hypocrisy of the Anglo-British establishment was in full view when May refused to explain to Angus Robertson her failure to reach agreement, as promised, with the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and NI before triggering Article 50. She really does seem to have taken the 'royal prerogative' to heart.

This charade, this most blessed of Unions, surely, can not go on indefinitely. I almost want the EU to play hardball and simply refuse point blanck any free trade access to the single market, just because. That might just do the trick.

Anonymous said...

I too found the Prime Minister's statement on triggering Article 50 somewhat 'forced' and 'confused'. And quite why she didn't just send the letter via e.mail I've no idea. Certainly a lot quicker and a lot less costly.

But, to my mind, the best thing to come out of all this mess is a 'sorting out' of the UK, its constituent parts and all its assorted peoples. I sense England has run out of patience with Scotland. That relationship is now done and dusted. As for Wales, I too sense imminent change. England is no longer willing to 'pay' a country to indulge in a long lost fantasy culture and educate its kids in an alien tongue. And why should they?

So I think we have some hard choice. Try to make a go of it ourselves or adhere to the agreements we made all this years ago with Edward VIII?

John Dixon said...

Anon,

"England is no longer willing to 'pay' a country to indulge in a long lost fantasy culture and educate its kids in an alien tongue. And why should they?" Whilst I'm sure that is an accurate reflection of the distorted view held by some in England, I'm not sure that it's entirely fair to tar them all with the same brush.

"... adhere to the agreements we made all this years ago with Edward VIII" I'm not sure what agreements 'we' made with Edward VIII, but since we had no parliament at that point, and he had graciously given most of his sovereignty (for the brief period for which he had any) to parliament, it's hard to see who could have made any agreements or how they could have any legal force. Apart from which - as Brexit surely demonstrates - any agreement made at one point can always be unmade later. Looks like a complete red herring to me.

Neilyn said...

"As for Wales, I too sense imminent change. England is no longer willing to 'pay' a country to indulge in a long lost fantasy culture and educate its kids in an alien tongue. And why should they?"

Am ddau reswm bach syml Anonymous. Lloegr, heb unrhyw amheuaeth o gwbl, ydi'r wlad gora oll ar wyneb y ddaear a'i phobl yn llawn brawdgarwch di-ddiwedd at y Brython, ei ddiwylliant a'i iaith. Onid yw hynny'n amlwg frawd? Ac yn ail, mae'n rhaid bodloni'r brodorion gyda briwsion er mwyn dal grym ar yr adnoddau gwerthfawr beth bynnag. Wedi'r cyfan, beth yw Lloegr heb ei threfedigaethau?