The 4th of July 2010 was my first real taste of what it means to an American to BE an American. It was the day I realised that national pride isn't something that should be shunned. We should be proud of the place we live in, if we can be, and we should be able to fly our flags, sing our music, and damned well PARTY!
This year, however, I am thinking that we (the people of the UK - Politicians and Plebs alike) can learn from the example the USA set in 1776 when they drafted and signed their Constitution.
The thing is that, yes, they kicked us Brits out of America and said "We shall rule ourselves, pal. Thank you very much, have a nice day!", but what they also did is take a set of rules and try to make them work for the people they govern.
Since it's signing the Constitution has had 27 amendments added to it which have allowed for the USA to adapt and keep its citizens safe.
I think that, as Brexit looms, we can learn from that.
Brexit isn't going to be easy, it's not going to be particularly nice in my opinion, and it is going to take a lot longer than the two year deadline we have been given. That's not to say we won't have left the European Union, we will have. But we will need to adapt as we go, be willing to bend and change as we re-learn who we are as a nation outside of the EU. We need to try and be like our cousin's across the ocean.
Let's hope we can be, let's hope our leaders can and, as they say in good ole US of A:
God bless us all, and God bless our country (this is adapted to suit my purposes, obviously).
Peace!
