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Saturday, June 25, 2016

Uh! Oh!



It was the Summer Solstice coupled with a full moon that drove the animal kingdom wild. Our house was plagued by flying ants and bugs of various kinds. They were all over the ceilings and covering the lights, and they were in our hair and our eyes and noses. They seemed to have gone mad.

The effect was still with us on June 23rd when the U.K. went to vote whether to stay where they were or to take a giant leap into the abyss. I have to say that I was not shocked or surprised with the outcome, although traditionally conservative Britain that does not like change found incredible courage to go for the biggest change of all, even though they have no idea what's in store with their decision.

This may indeed turn out to be a classic case of:" Be careful what you wish for!"

In a conversation I had with a friend of similar age, we were commenting on the fact that our lives were all about change. We were reflecting on how we went from one change to another, and the speed and depth of change. Especially when it comes to electronic and digital change, you pick up a gizmo, turn around once and that thing is redundant.

Well, it seems that we really hadn't seen anything. It appears that everything as we know it is now in play. The European Union is on the brink of no longer being a Union; the United Kingdom is no longer United, and the Great United States of America may have its days being counted as the Number One nation of the world. Our challenge, as citizens of the world, is that we have to open our minds and be ready to be flexible for whatever is coming.  Decisions will be made in the near future that were unthinkable only a year ago.  Some things will change for the worse that will leave us stunned, wondering how on earth did we arrive at this place.

The world is revolving so fast, and change is coming so rapidly that it seems that the world is about to go off the rails. I said I was not shocked nor surprised with the way the U.K. voted because for the common man it was an emotive issue, and I was fairly sure that emotion would carry the day. Today, there are a lot of people who are broadly smiling. I just hope they are still smiling a year from now.

There is one thing that deeply disturbs me, and that is the degree of emotional separation that the decision has caused. Families are struck by the bitterness; friends and companions have cooled their relationships; and here in Spain people in the streets seem to have a hostile attitude that you Brits have voted to leave the club, so why don't you just bugger off!

The British Prime Minister took the step to stand down to turn the leadership over to someone who believes in the Out decision. Many people have expressed disappointment and shock with his decision. In my opinion, if you voted for the U.K. to leave the EU but you didn't expect the Prime Minister to step down, that is pretty raw data that you had no idea, none at all in the gravity of the step you took.

But cheer up, it will get worse!

Copyright (c) 2016
Eugene Carmichael