The first reaction to our title is clear – absolutely inappropriate. The Fourth of July is a celebration of America’s Independence from the horrible colonial rule of Britain. The fact that both sides were Englishmen in ethnicity didn’t matter much. The British redcoats were viciously brutal to Americans as the film “Patriot” shows or the AMC series “Turn” shows.
America’s Independence was not achieved easily. The war was long & hard. But Americans were absolutely tired of being ruled by someone from afar, tired of being ordered to do what that ruler wanted and tired of being bled into poverty by unfair taxes on which they had no control. Americans wanted control of their own country, of their land & of their way of life. And they won a war to obtain that.
So why on earth would anyone even consider saying Hail Britannia on this Fourth of July? Perhaps because England has finally become somewhat like America. The English people summoned the will, the backbone to reject the foreign rule of their ruler from afar. For the past 30+ years, Britain had accepted to remain a part of the European Union, an entity they thought was going to be a Free Trade Zone. But, as typically happens, once you accept the rule of another entity you ended up giving up more & more of your freedom to make your own rules.
Finally, the English people said no more and voted to exit the EU. Read what Nigel Farage, the man who began fighting this battle 15 years ago, said on Monday to the members of the European Parliament:
- ” … the reason, the main reason the United Kingdom voted the way it did is you have by stealth, by deception without ever telling the truth to the British people or rest of the peoples of Europe, you have imposed upon them a political union, you have imposed upon them a political union; when the people in 2005 in Netherlands & France voted against the union & rejected the constitution, you simply ignored that & brought the Lisbon treaty in through the back door … “
There were many arguments to remain in the EU and many voices preached so. Almost every multinational corporation, every investment bank, every TV guru and a huge number of eminent leaders, both British & Global, warned the English people about impoverishment, about being banished to a corner of the world if they chose to leave the EU, the richest continent on earth.
Think about it. This is similar to what many in the American colonies said to the Americans who wanted independence from that colonial Britain. That America was singularly undeveloped when compared to the British Empire. So wouldn’t it have been better to stay with the British empire & have a bigger pie to share than to get a pittance of an independence?
The same case was made to the Indian people when Indians were fighting for independence from the British. The British Empire was at its zenith and India was benefiting somewhat under the harsh British rule. Wasn’t it better to strive to get a better deal from the rich & powerful British Empire than to fight for independence in a poor, undeveloped land without any administration?
As Mr. Kinnock said to Mahatma Gandhi at that time:
- “With respect Mr. Gandhi, without British Administration, this country would be reduced to chaos”
Mahatma Gandhi replied succinctly:
- “Mr. Kinnock, I beg you to accept that there is no people on earth who would not prefer their own bad government to the good government of an alien power“
Nigel Farage’s answer to the European Parliament sounds similar:
- “… what the little people did, what the ordinary people did, what the people who have been oppressed over the last few years & seen their living standards go down, they rejected the multinationals, they rejected the merchant banks, they rejected big politics, they said actually we want our country back, we want our fishing waters back, we want our borders back, we want to be an independent self-governing normal nation & that is what we have done & that is what must happen …”
As one born in India, once a British colony, and now a citizen of America, once a British colony, it seems poetic & refreshing to see the declaration by the English people of their new independence from EU. It feels as if England is now in our corner, a corner that is both American & Indian. In fact, a Swiss man who lives in Southeast Asia felt the same. Marc Faber, the well known investor & editor of the Gloom, Doom & Boom report said thus on Bloomberg TV:
- “I am Swiss … We have a constitution & already in 1291, in the 13th century, we swore we would not pay taxes to a foreign leader & we would never accept foreign judges & that’s what basically European countries have done – they transferred their sovereignty to essentially unelected bureaucrats in Brussels”
Independence is not easy especially after a long period of living under the rule of a larger, bigger entity. America was very smart in dealing with Britain after 1776 because Britain was still the bigger & richer power. India had to be very smart after 1947 because Britain remained the bigger & richer power.
Now Britain will have to be very smart because the EU is still the much richer & larger power. And just as Britain was smart in return in dealing with an independent America after 1776 and an independent India after 1947, the EU will have to be smart in dealing with a new Britain that is going to become independent from EU in the next couple of years.
By EU, we mean Germany. There is no question that Britain lost big when America became independent. The British empire ended when India became independent. What about Germany, the bulwark of today’s EU? Will Germany lose big from Britain’s independence? Read what Dr. George Friedman, the founder of Geopolitical Futures & previously founder of Stratfor, wrote on Tuesday, June 28 in his article Germany with Its Back against a Wall:
- “[Germany’s] ability to survive this is much more uncertain than that of the British. The reasons are fairly obvious, but since everyone in the media is focused on the end of Great Britain, it is a story they haven’t noticed”
- “Exports to Britain are critical to Germany, and the Germans may posture, but they would be cutting off their nose to spite their face by breaking trade relations with Britain. The German fear is that the British decision to leave will spread to other countries and that this might start a reconsideration of the free trade zone …”
- “For Germany, the free trade zone is indispensable. The fundamental reality of Europe is that Germany derives nearly half of its GDP from exports. … A 5 percent decline in exports would mean a 2.25 percent decline in Germany’s GDP. … Germany will sacrifice everything to protect the free trade zone“.
It is not easy for the rest of countries to separate from EU. Britain can leave easily because their currency is the Pound Sterling and not the Euro. So making a deal with the new Britain to keep them friendly and saving the rest of EU is doable for Germany. And we think Germany will work towards that once tempers cool & hurt feelings mend.
Remember the overriding objective of colonial Britain was to ensure that no continental European power becomes dominant in Europe. That is also an overriding strategic objective of today’s America. And that will also become an overriding objective of the new Britain. So America & Britain may actually become real allies not against Germany per se but in supporting Southern Europe & Eastern Europe against an overly dominant Germany-Brussels ruler.
And how overly dominant is the EU or Germany-Brussels Rule? Dr. Friedman writes:
- “For example, the EU is condemning the Polish government for what it calls tampering with the judiciary. Similarly, the EU has been hostile to Hungary for interfering with the media. There was serious tension with Italy when the EU said that in a banking crisis, depositors should consider their money forfeit, and the Italians struggled with the notion of facing strict limits to aiding ailing banks. During the height of the refugee crisis the Austrians threatened to close the Brenner Pass to block refugee movement, while a number of other countries refused to follow EU dictates on the subject. The Greeks are still bitter about the devastation of EU-mandated austerity. And so on”
A Britain free from the clutches of a dictatorial EU in itself calls for a celebration but a Britain that gets closer to America is cause for a real celebration. And the potential for a new America-Britain partnership to bring freedom from regulations to the rest of Europe is worth a raucous celebration on this Fourth of July.
That is why we can simultaneously wish a Great Fourth of July to America and hail America’s new potential partner, the new Britannia.
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