Good? Bad? The right move? The wrong move?

Whatever your view, whether you were for or against Brexit, the historic exit happened and the process of Britain leaving the EU (European Union) continues to unfold. The fascinating dynamic that’s been transpiring in the months that have followed is that the EU still appears to be exuding an air of arrogance and utter disbelief that Brexit was the elective choice of the British people last year.

When votes are cast by the public, there are consequences, both good and bad in a variety of forms. However, many votes in elections (if not all) are cast for specific, passionate reasons. Even proponents of the EU conceded a little bit that the bureaucracy of the governing body needed amending and reform. The simple fact is the EU has not catapulted Europe and its diverse citizenry to the forefront of the globalized world, as many predicted during its inception. The gamble was big and the winnings have been, to a majority of voters in Britain, nonexistent…or perhaps only microscopic.

Some voters prefer to take a scalpel to a problem and surgically fix an issue piece-by-piece. Some voters prefer to take a sledge hammer to a problem to begin knocking down a long-standing institution that’s not working and not getting any better. The macro vs. micro debate, as demonstrated in Britain, the United States of America and other countries around the world, is swinging quite significantly towards the macro solution. This meaning people are leaning towards dramatic, wholesale change versus tinkering with the failing status quo.

To make matters more intense, the recent smugness of the EU not only illuminates their resistance to the reality of its struggling and frustrated European people, but also fuels the strength of the current populist movement well into the future if that reality isn’t understood and resolved with both a scalpel and a sledge hammer.

“…the least painful for the EU.”
–Donald Tusk, President of the European Council

And now the acclaimed and brilliant historian Niall Ferguson with his trademark insight, quick-wit and humility.

Mr. Tusk chose the correct word near the end of his remarks above: painful.

Ironically, that’s actually the word many of the Brexit voters likely felt concerning their working and living situations day-to-day under the failing bureaucratic labyrinth that is the EU.

P.S. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the terrorist attack in London.