[spireitematt]

Vince Cable said. "Nostalgia for a world where passports were blue, faces were white and the map was coloured imperial pink" had driven some older voters to Brexit. And it was their votes on one wet day in June which crushed the hopes and aspirations of young people for years to come,"

Pretty much called some of the 17.4 million people who voted racists.

I think his sentiment is probably correct but his examples of what they wanted I think is wrong.  How many times have we heard older generations say "It was better back in my day" or "It wasn't like this back in my day", that is what he is essentially referring to.  Those statements are not necessarily racist.

Times change and things move on though. You have to move with the times otherwise you will get left behind.

I would say there are pro's and con's to each generation.

I think today there are too many pressure's especially where social media is concerned as people are trying to paint how wonderful their life is while deep down they are very lonely and insecure. Technology has come on leaps and bounds and is changing all the time and sometimes too quickly and sometimes not for the better.

The passport thing is a false statement because Britain never needed to change the colour of the passport from Blue/Black to red.

[St Charles Owl]

I guarantee there was no one worrying about the color of a passport in the Brexit referendum!! Things do change and these days they change at a speed we have never seen before, but it can be difficult for older people to follow, let alone understand these changes. Someone who is retired won't be worrying about being left behind with regards to new technology as they are unlikely to use it anyway.

[bluepooch]

Agree there Matt,the young generation accuse the older ones of ruining their futures but they haven't seen how things have changed since 30 years ago so they have no way of comparing now with the past .
I want England to be an independent European country but hate the way we are immersing into a puppet state within the EU .

[spireitematt]

ORB said today we will be paying money to the EU till 2064, in the main it will be pensions.

[hibeejim21]

"I want England to be an independent European country"


How the xxxx is that going to work? You aren't even an independent country in the UK.

[bluepooch]

I want England to maintain its identity not be absorbed into the mish mash caused by the EU policies .

[Devongone]

The truth is surely that countries aren't independent anyway? Giant corporations encircle the globe and their tentacles manipulate the responses of every major government.

Countries are a convenient way of dividing up the world. They provide identity, offer people a sense of control, and in general maintain a viable environment for corporations to get rich and grow. Their existence maintains the illusion of competition and the belief that ever-expanding markets can guarantee our future. Countries are nice for the Eurovision Song Contest, the World Cup and the Olympics, they create a bit of news, but deep down big capital knows countries don't matter. That's why the Bankers behind the EUropean project think the concept of ever-closer union is the future. But people ....... they do identify with town and county and country ......... and no one identifies with Microsoft or the European Central Bank.

In the end places exist and stay where they are, corporations and money go where they will, bringing riches and devastation in almost equal measure.

[bluepooch]

Spot on Dev ,My biggest worry is that in 20 years time if the EU has its way ,you wont be able to distinguish in any way between an Englishman and a Belgian and for that matter an African .Some might say whats wrong with that ? .I just feel uncomfortable with it .
I'm not talking about colour of skin ,its losing the identity of a country's culture ,language,laws and even religions that worries me .
I believe if someone goes to reside in another country they should be made to respect the culture and language .If i went to live in Iraq I would be expected to respect their laws and culture and the same should go for any country .I bet the Spanish people are over the moon with the large communities of ex pats who live there who cant be bothered to learn the lingo and want the English lifestyle in the sun .

[spireitematt]

Each country in Europe has its own traditions, culture, language and identity. Now if a United States of Europe happened it would dilute the countries traditions, culture, language and identity. Also not to mention what would the universal language be in a United States of Europe?

People turn round and say but it works in America but the reason it works in America is because it is one whole country and they share the same traditions, culture, identity and language. Plus they all share the same laws with some exceptions in some states.

Dev talks about it in the comment about globalisation. Globalisation doesn't really help ordinary people but it helps big business and banks. Like you say Dev people identify with towns, counties and countries. People are proud to come from a certain country or county and be proud of where they are from or what football team they support etc.

[Dancingwilldoit]

Spot on Dev ,My biggest worry is that in 20 years time if the EU has its way ,you wont be able to distinguish in any way between an Englishman and a Belgian and for that matter an African .Some might say whats wrong with that ? .I just feel uncomfortable with it .
I'm not talking about colour of skin ,its losing the identity of a country's culture ,language,laws and even religions that worries me .
I believe if someone goes to reside in another country they should be made to respect the culture and language .If i went to live in Iraq I would be expected to respect their laws and culture and the same should go for any country .I bet the Spanish people are over the moon with the large communities of ex pats who live there who cant be bothered to learn the lingo and want the English lifestyle in the sun .

Blue, the UK has spent most of its history colonising, raping and pillaging too many countries to mention. Did we respect Indian and Pakistani culture or that of the half of Africa we decided it would be nice to have? An awful lot of non white people have rights to UK passports because of our ancestors past. That has nothing to do with the EU. You reap what you sow or in our case rape, make a few bob and bugger the consequences.

Would it really matter if you couldn't tell the difference between a Belgian and an Englishman? Most Belgians speak better English than we do, we both drink beer, they are more religious than us but I don't hold that against them, its not like they have 2 heads or anything. I am sure you would rather have a beer loving Belgian living next door to you than a crack house full of English people or a sub let to 30 Pakistani's with ligit "British" passports.