Some, especially those who campaigned for Britain to leave the European Union, are saying that the vote to leave the EU should be seen as marking Britain's independence. In fact, Nigel Farage, the loquacious leader of UKIP whose recent resignation after the vote to leave shows that he could not stand to defend the lies he told during the campaign, declared the day of the vote to be British Independence Day. It is now being reported that other groups, especially in the United States, are taking inspiration from this to call for their own independence.
Before the falsehood that Brexit marks British independence takes further root, it is important to reject this narrative. Brexit does not mark British independence; it is rather the latest stage of British retreat. It marks Britain's retreat as a fallen empire. There was a time when Britain controlled the world from Asia to Polynesia, Africa and the Americas. Beginning with America's war of independence in the eighteenth century and stretching to the independence of Hong Kong in the late twentieth century, British influence in the world has been declining. Brexit marks the latest stage of this decline and retreat rather than a quest for independence. Normally only oppressed people fight for independence, as the history of the global South tells us. Calling Brexit British independence is an insult to those who have had to fight to extricate themselves from the tyranny of Britain. Brexit should be properly called what it is - British retreat.
Before the falsehood that Brexit marks British independence takes further root, it is important to reject this narrative. Brexit does not mark British independence; it is rather the latest stage of British retreat. It marks Britain's retreat as a fallen empire. There was a time when Britain controlled the world from Asia to Polynesia, Africa and the Americas. Beginning with America's war of independence in the eighteenth century and stretching to the independence of Hong Kong in the late twentieth century, British influence in the world has been declining. Brexit marks the latest stage of this decline and retreat rather than a quest for independence. Normally only oppressed people fight for independence, as the history of the global South tells us. Calling Brexit British independence is an insult to those who have had to fight to extricate themselves from the tyranny of Britain. Brexit should be properly called what it is - British retreat.
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