What is it going to take to turn an extraordinary result into an extraordinary or at least decent future? The answer lies not in the immediate actions of politicians but in the character of the Britons who had the courage to vote for Leave against all the authorities telling them to do otherwise. The measure of how shocking that has been can be seen in the vitriol directed against Leave voters, and that is where the motif of Two Fingers comes from.
Two fingers is an ancient sign, a taunt to our then European (French) enemies who had vowed to cut off the bow fingers of the British archers. It showed, after the battle was won against all expectations, that their fingers were intact. Reversed, it was used by Churchill as a symbol of victory, long before that was assured. It is a fitting symbol then in our current circumstances, when we have gone against all authority, not only the EU authority that was the subject of the referendum, and now find ourselves in a situation where a successful outcome is far from assured.
We have shown that bloody-mindedness and common sense are not dead. Now we need to recognise that they are our strengths, not our weaknesses, and we should take confidence from the outrage of those who seek to deride us. They're clearly not happy that we decided what's best for ourselves. What should that tell us about the kind of people who think they have the right, indeed duty, to rule our lives?
Maybe it's time to take back our future.
Two fingers is an ancient sign, a taunt to our then European (French) enemies who had vowed to cut off the bow fingers of the British archers. It showed, after the battle was won against all expectations, that their fingers were intact. Reversed, it was used by Churchill as a symbol of victory, long before that was assured. It is a fitting symbol then in our current circumstances, when we have gone against all authority, not only the EU authority that was the subject of the referendum, and now find ourselves in a situation where a successful outcome is far from assured.
We have shown that bloody-mindedness and common sense are not dead. Now we need to recognise that they are our strengths, not our weaknesses, and we should take confidence from the outrage of those who seek to deride us. They're clearly not happy that we decided what's best for ourselves. What should that tell us about the kind of people who think they have the right, indeed duty, to rule our lives?
Maybe it's time to take back our future.
