Six Years On From The Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Six years ago the opening ceremony for the London Olympics took place. It was an event which brought great pride in our nation, a humble reflection on parts of our history and a celebration of all that makes our nation great, but not in a bombastic way.
Alongside the games themselves that pride and confidence should have driven the nation on to a future of hope and prosperity. That feel-good factor was with us for the next two or three years. The world saw us as a new Britain, a Britain of hope and glory, a Britain that is of the people and for the people, an island of many cultures, colours and creed. But then that all changed.
Almost four years after that Olympics opening ceremony the Conservative government cow-towed to the extremists in their party and funders and offered the nation a referendum on membership of the EU. Backed by right wing bankers, investors and media figures the anti-EU brigade embraced that feel-good British pride and turned it into an inward looking, hate-filled and xenophobic rhetoric. While the opening ceremony celebrated the differences in our nation the anti-eu campaigns celebrated isolationism and white privilege and how anyone of a different colour, culture or creed was bad for the nation. With corrupt propaganda and lies they convinced over 52% of the nation who voted (in one of the largest voter turn outs in decades) to vote to leave the EU.
With this they encouraged or were the catalyst for the rise of right wing extremism. With one MP murdered and another MP only saved from murder due to a whistle blower. Both of these incidents led by crazy extremists influenced and deluded by the open hatred perpetuated by right wing groups who backed the leaving of the EU. Thank god both of these people will now end up rotting in prison for the rest of their lives.
But they are just the bottom of the rotten pile. The once great nation now sees open racism, islamophbia, antisemitism and xenophobia on a daily basis. Brexit has divided a nation wider than it has ever been before and it is difficult to see a way back.
The government are stockpiling food, medicines, equipment and liquids to cope with a potential destruction of what is left of a Great Britain. The right wing leaders are still pushing a folly dream of a new utopia after leaving the EU, one which they have said is likely to see fruition in about 50 years, yes 50 years.
The things celebrated on that hot day in July 2012 were the people, the NHS, our cultural and arts history and our industry. In 50 years the only thing left to celebrate will be our history before we left the EU I fear.
There is a campaign to bring forward a second vote for the EU, I fear this may not come about even if public demand increases. The people aren’t in control of their future now. The antithesis of all that is and was great about Britain are in control of our futures now and only something extraordinary is going to change that.
If, however, people took an hour out of their day to rewatch this opening ceremony they may actually be able to capture what was once great about Britain and could be again. That positive energy and outlook could be the only thing we have left to convince the masses that the future the right wing want us to head towards is the wrong direction for Britain and an alternative and more prosperous future sits in the direction where a Britain can be great by embracing its varied cultures, colours and creeds. For in that direction Britain can be great. The direction we are heading has no greatness at all.
You can watch the opening ceremony again here: https://youtu.be/4As0e4de-rI
