A vista in Cumbria (Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
As we\u2019ve driven through the countryside, we\u2019ve seen huge banners draped across hay bales screaming \u201cVote Leave!\u201d and equally large banners elsewhere reading \u201cVote Remain<\/strong>!\u201d \u00a0Newspaper headlines blare advice to vote one way or the other.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The polls are very close, with a slight lead \u2014 51% to 49% in the most recent survey that I\u2019ve seen \u2014 held by\u00a0the side that wants to remain in the European Union. \u00a0But the vote could easily go either way.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brexit<\/em>, people are calling it. \u00a0\u201cBritish exit from the EU.\u201d \u00a0Those who advocate it sometimes call it Britain\u2019s \u201cIndependence Day.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a momentous occasion.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom, separated from continental Europe by the English Channel and, further north, by the North Sea, has always been different. \u00a0They drive on the left hand side of the road here, after all. \u00a0And, even while in the EU, they\u2019ve retained the British pound rather than adopting the Euro. \u00a0But they\u2019ve been drawn deeper and deeper into the rest of Europe. \u00a0Air travel and the Chunnel (the Channel tunnel) and modern communications have lessened the metaphorical distance between the Continent and William Blake\u2019s \u201cgreen and pleasant land,\u201d with its sense of special destiny:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0 And did those feet in ancient time,<\/strong><\/span>
\nWalk upon England\u2019s mountains green:<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnd was the holy Lamb of God,<\/strong><\/span>
\nOn England\u2019s pleasant pastures seen!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nAnd did the Countenance Divine,<\/strong><\/span>
\nShine forth upon our clouded hills?<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnd was Jerusalem builded here,<\/strong><\/span>
\nAmong these dark Satanic Mills?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nBring me my Bow of burning gold;<\/strong><\/span>
\nBring me my Arrows of desire:<\/strong><\/span>
\nBring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!<\/strong><\/span>
\nBring me my Chariot of fire!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nI will not cease from Mental Fight,<\/strong><\/span>
\nNor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:<\/strong><\/span>
\nTill we have built Jerusalem,<\/strong><\/span>
\nIn England\u2019s green & pleasant Land.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s vote is about more than merely withdrawing from the European Union, with its\u00a0sick and undisciplined socialist economies, its officious and meddling bureaucrats in Brussels, and the possibility\u00a0of a pan-European military. \u00a0It\u2019s about the United Kingdom\u2019s conception of itself.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Posted from Brockwood Hall, Cumbria, England<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 As we\u2019ve driven through the countryside, we\u2019ve seen huge banners draped across hay bales screaming \u201cVote Leave!\u201d and equally large banners elsewhere reading \u201cVote Remain!\u201d \u00a0Newspaper headlines blare advice to vote one way or the other. \u00a0 The polls are very close, with a slight lead \u2014 51% to 49% in the most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Cumbrian](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/06\/799px-Keswick_Cumbria_Panorama_1_-_June_2009.jpg\")
<\/a>