Brexit Bummer

The world is mourning right now. The UK in aggregate voted to leave the EU. It will have massive implications. I have a stake in this decision, because my two children are British as is my wife. Many others closer to the center of Brexit are more impacted, and I feel for them.

The UK leaving the EU will mean travel limitations and barriers to employment, which are beyond significant inconveniences. Worse are the financial consequences for the additional overhead and constraints in trading. The worst part is that culturally, our new norm is a new low. We’re living in tacit acknowledgement that the majority of our fellow humans would rather segregate than unify. Many tie the decision to leave the EU with low intelligence or unwarranted fear. Others claim more severe xenophobia. In any case, we are taking two steps back, and it will take decades to repair and right the course. This is what we are grieving over. What could have been if we all came together not just in the EU but all over the world? There is a possibility that this referendum amounts to nothing and the UK remains in the EU, but the damage has been done as we start drawing lines on the basis of where people come from.

Needless to say, I’m feeling pretty bummed, and so is my family. We’re not the only ones. Brexit is such a huge global bummer that it set the world record for the number of times the word ‘bummer’ was used to describe how people felt after the results posted.

My only hope is that people will continue to stand up for what is right. More and more people around the world are taking a stand and many are taking stands different to each other. It all gives me faith, because it means people care and are not happy with the status quo. Our humanity gives us meaning and vulnerabilities. Only by working together can we enrich ourselves fully since we’re all connected. I am committed to the forces of tolerance, unity, and peace. We will eventually overcome the isolating rhetoric, fear-mongering, and misguided nationalism that prevents us all from progressing to a better place.