What can the rest of the “free world” learn from Trump and Brexit?

A nationalist is one who thinks solely, or mainly, in terms of competitive prestige. He may be a positive or a negative nationalist – that is, he may use his mental energy either in boosting or in denigrating – but at any rate his thoughts always turn on victories, defeats, triumphs, and humiliations. He sees history, especially contemporary history, as the endless rise and decline of great power units, and every event that happens seems to him a demonstration that his own side is on the up-grade and some hated rival on the down-grade. But finally, it is important not to confuse nationalism with mere worship of success. The nationalist does not go on the principle of simply ganging up with the strongest side. On the contrary, having picked his side, he persuades himself that it is the strongest, and is able to stick to his belief even when the facts are overwhelmingly against him. Nationalism is power hunger tempered by self-deception. Every nationalist is capable of the most flagrant dishonesty, but he is also – since he is conscious of serving something bigger than himself – unshakeably certain of being in the right.

One of the reasons I and so many others love the writing of George Orwell is his unshakeable instinct for what was coming next, how people think and why they think that way. As a big fan of Orwell’s novels, I recently took out The Penguin Essays of George Orwell from Sussex’s library, just to dip into. What’s most striking about Orwell’s writing is its ability to transcend generations, in the sense that what he wrote in the 1930s and 40s are as relevant today as they were when he wrote them. After a fairly restless night waiting for the results of the US election, I thought I’d take a look at Orwell’s essay on nationalism. His descriptions of ‘the endless rise and decline of great power units’ strongly echo Trump’s campaign slogan of ‘Make America great again’. It almost seems as though Orwell is describing the incoming president when he says a nationalist is ‘able to stick to his belief even when the facts are overwhelmingly against him’, despite the fact that the essay was published the year before Trump was even born. Without wishing to state the obvious, Orwell couldn’t see into the future. Rather, he had a distinctive ability to make judgements about human nature, some of which have manifested themselves in many world events, not least in this election. What part of human nature has been seized by Trump and can account for his success? A success which, one has to admit, has been absolutely huge and unprecedented. 

 

The most sobering part of Trump’s election was not the fact that he was able to win. Although he is rightly the focus of virtually every news outlet in the world right now, it would be naïve to assume that this begins and ends with Trump. The whole campaign is part of something much bigger than Trump or America. It has spread throughout the West; Brexit and Trump’s presidency, I fear, are just the beginning. It’s clear that the amount of disenchantment with the way the West is moving is incredibly significant. People feel left behind by globalisation, aggravated by a multiculturalist agenda they had no say in. It’s far too easy to call these people racist, close-minded or backward. In fact, not only is it too easy, it’s politically suicidal. If one thing is clearly demonstrated by both Brexit and Trump’s election, it’s that when you accuse people of having racist or xenophobic motivations, they are more likely to reaffirm their own views in a kind of defiance against the establishment. So it is the responsibility of all of us to assure that we stand up for what’s positive about our own beliefs, not negative about someone else’s. By this I mean we focus on why we are pro-choice, in favour of gun control and gay marriage, concerned by climate change, believe that refugees need to be treated like human beings and not numbers. 

Other European nations have big choices to make in upcoming elections. France can choose to dissolve the European Union by the choices they make at the ballot box. In order to avoid this, the pro-European French media and political left need to champion what’s positive about immigration, the EU and increased integration. If it chooses the path of negativity, another backlash of the Brexit/Trump kind could happen, the domino effect will continue with significant consequences for the future of Europe and the West.  

Reflections on Brexit

Picture the scene. I'm lying on my bed in an apartment in Valladolid, Spain, watching the breaking news about the EU referendum on my phone. It's 11pm in Spain and BBC News are predicting a comfortable victory for Remain. Even Nigel Farage has admitted defeat. Phew, I thought; the country has come to its senses and decided to stay part of the largest single market in the world and a group of progressive co-operative nations. I could sleep in peace.

Fast forward about 5 hours. I'm half awake, and pick up my phone from my bedside table and through bleary eyes see a 'UK votes to leave EU' headline from the BBC. How could this have happened? Disappointed, disheartened, I can't get back to sleep before my alarm goes off at 7am. I'm in Spain for a language course. After getting to graduate level in French and German, I wanted to learn some Spanish - or rather, continue the language after learning some basics whilst in Germany. I got a scholarship from the Fundación de la Lengua Espanola to study in Valladolid for two weeks. The first week was fun - especially after England beating Wales in the Euros and receiving my degree results. The second week - punctured by Brexit and England's Euro misery (it seems we're good at leaving Europe in more than one sense) - was just as memorable.

Let me put forward why Brexit means so much to me personally. I am not an economist - if I'm honest, I don't know whether leaving the EU would be good or bad for the economy, though I would suspect bad. I'm a linguist, a student of culture. I received my grade for a BA in Languages and Contemporary European Sudies and in the same week my country decides it's better off separating itself from the very cultures I've been studying. You see, I'm part of that generation that considers itself to be British and European. Likes the UK and the EU. Appreciates the progressive nature of breaking down borders and building bridges, not putting up walls. During my time in Germany, I walked over a bridge between France and Germany (admittedly, because we got off the bus one stop early in Germany, rather than waiting to go over the border). After having studied France and Germany in depth, I could really appreciate the pertinence, even beauty, of being able to go between these great countries without a passport, without even seeing a security guard. Two nations who have been at each other's throats for generations, now at peace. Working together.

I've always been a Europhile - fascinated by French food, an enthusiast of Spanish football, an admirer of the German work ethic. That's what inspired me to learn languages, for a different language truly is a different vision of life. For me, the most saddening thing about Brexit is that it reveals what kind of country most Brits want to live in, a country that is so far removed from everything I stand for and believe in.

The day of the Brexit announcement happens to be my last day at the language school. At the awards ceremony (slightly too grand for a two week course, I might add), it was clear that it was not just the Brits on the course who were incredibly disconsolate about the result. Many people - from India to Italy and beyond - said to me that they were sad, and they felt sorry for me as a Remain voter. Language schools are a rare - and brilliant - opporunity to learn in a truly global environment. In my class, there was a Brazilian, a Russian, two Indians, a Croatian. I'm privileged to have been able to have such experiences - to learn from and alongside people from all over the world, and it is this that has shaped my own life philosophy and values. This is where the Remain campaign failed. Instead of embracing what is positive about Europe - the benefits of globalisation, co-operation, peace builiding and so on, far too often a negative rhetoric of austerity and recession were used. 

In an age when Britain chooses to look inward rather than outward, I can be reassured by one thing. There are many others like me, in Britain and beyond, who still believe that there could be a better world where we put nationalism and patriotism to one side, and favour intercultural understanding and friendship instead.

Southside Festival

SOUTHSIDE FESTIVAL. 19th - 21st June 2015. Neuhausen, southern Germany.

We arrived with German-style efficiency on Thursday and set up our 'bargain' tent from Argos. Did you hear the rain? Before long our tent was letting in quite a lot of water. We closed the small zip window in order to keep the inside of the tent drier (a futile attempt) before trying to get to sleep. Friday's line up was incredible and we wanted to get some sleep beforehand.



My boots before and after I cleaned them

At about four in the morning we were all still awake, wet and (believe it or not) having difficulty breathing. Why was this happening? It turned out that when we closed the window to stop getting drenched, we cut out some of the air supply to the tent. There was a lack of oxygen in the tent so we begrudgingly left the window open, favouring oxygen over keeping dry (good decision, I think).



On Friday morning we woke up after a few hours sleep, now breathing at normal rates. There seemed to be beer drinking games going on around us, everywhere. 9am and people were downing can after can. I know it's Germany, but come on? I don't suspect many of them lasted to see Florence + The Machine 14 hours later. After finding some elusive and expensive coffee we headed to the arena with high hopes. Apart from Ben Howard pulling out due to illness, it was a brilliant day. The Vaccines, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Of Monsters and Men, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds (he performed Don't Look Back in Anger. If that's the closest I come to seeing Oasis, then so be it!) and of course Florence + The Machine. That girl can sing.



Alt-J

Although Friday was the main event for us, we also saw some other great stuff. Amidst the mud, madness and Beck's, two newish bands that were really great were Sunset Sons and Nothing But Thieves, if you wanna check them out. We also saw Alt-J, George Ezra, The Tallest Man on Earth, Placebo, Kodaline and some others. Overall it was a brilliant weekend and another great memory for my year abroad. What a life!

Cologne/Germany v US, Brussels and the European Parliament

"Who are you going to support?" is what my friend Sophie asks me as we head to the friendly match between Germany and the USA in Cologne. "Neither - I'm neutral," I reply. Would I rather support England's rivals, the World Cup winners and our 1966 victims Germany, or a nation that calls our beloved sport 'soccer' and will probably before long be better than England, the US?

Germany vs USA - 10.06.15

Despite my inability to support either team (I love the countries, don't get me wrong. But football's a different ball game - or not) the match was pretty exciting and ended 2-1 to the US, much to the shock of Die Weltmeister and the joy of the visiting fans. You could hear "U-S-A" being shouted for at least an hour after the final whistle. I would feel pretty disappointed if I were German - they played well below par in the second half and the US deserved to win it.

As for Cologne itself, it's worth the visit for a day or two, I'd say. The cathedral is impressive and there are couple of very good museums. We enjoyed the Kölsch beer and had a kebab (not as good as the ones you get in Freiburg!) while sitting on the Rhine river. The rail journey between Freiburg and Cologne is also a treat. Large parts of it run along the Rhine and there was one part of the journey where we passed a castle every few minutes.

Cologne Cathedral

I took a coach to Brussels the next day. On arriving (only three hours from Cologne), I followed my map to get to the city centre because I'd booked a free walking tour of the city. This is the fourth time I've done one, the others being in Rome, Munich and Ljubljana. This one was just as good. Our guide was a guy called Charlie from England who was enthusiastic about Brussels and beer in equal measures (we stopped for a beer half way through). His stories were interesting and funny (you don't get that from museums!) and we went to all the main attractions. The square is beautiful and there's also an impressive palace. We saw the statue of the baby weeing (why this is exists is beyond me, but it's become a symbol of the city).

Grote Markt/Grand Place, Brussels

The next day I went to the European Parliament. Anyone who knows me well knows I love (and also sometimes hate) politics, and I loved visiting the Parliament! Beforehand I grabbed a coffee and a pain au chocolat in a cafe nearby. I felt a little out of place wearing my stripy white T-shirt and red shorts while everyone around me wore fancy suits and nodded seriously while making notes on leather encased notepads. The tour itself was good and the Parliamentarium is brilliant. It takes your through the events in Europe that led us to having the EU. History shows that cooperation aids peace and the breaking down of cooperative institutions leads to states acting in their own interests rather than the common good which can lead to war (and by god, do Europeans know the consequences of that).

 

Me at the European Parliament

Lakes, Beer and Darts Championships

I've been really busy for the past week and now my family have gone home I have some time to write about what's been going on.

Last Thursday was my 21st birthday and I feel very lucky for a few reasons. Firstly, all my friends at home made it special by messaging me or sending me things. Secondly, I had a big party in my flat and (despite the horrendous mess in the morning) I had a brilliant time and I feel really lucky that I've met such great people in Freiburg and that so many people bothered to come! I hope you had a great time if you're reading this and you're one of them :)

Thirdly, it was fun having the General Election on my birthday. In 2010 my birthday was the day after the election which was even better because on the election day itself not much happens apart from people heading to the polling booths. This election was just as interesting though. I remember frantically telling anyone at the party who might care that the Conservatives are heading for a majority or just shy of it. (It would have been interesting if they were a couple of seats off - what would they have done? Asked the Lib Dems to join forces again with their eight seats?) Anyway, I promised not to politicise my year abroad blog so I'll leave it there and just say that British politics gets more interesting by the year.

My parents, brother and friends Nigel and Nina arrived on Friday and luckily my birthday hangover had subsided. Tom came down from Strasbourg for the party and after seeing him off I headed back to my flat to start cleaning up. There was a lake just slightly smaller than Titisee (if you continue reading this, that will make more sense) on the kitchen floor and lots of empty beer bottles. EVERYWHERE. But I was just relieved that the hangover wasn't too bad and my family were coming that lunch time so I cracked on.

On the Friday evening we went out to a restaurant called Kräuterküche which to our surprise had a menu dedicated to Spargel (white asparagus, the Germans seem to live off it at this time of year). The Spargelkarte (Asparagus Menu) had things like 'Asparagus with fillet steak' and 'Asparagus with turkey breast'. Since when has asparagus trumped steak as the main event? You can see Spargel everywhere in Germany at this time of the year and when I tried to cook it myself I had to be saved by my flatmate from cooking it all wrong (thanks, Anni).

On Saturday we went up Germany's longest cable car, the Schauinslandbahn. Something got lost in translation and I mistakenly bought us single tickets, but very reasonably they made us pay only the difference for a return (rather than buying another round of singles). That was a relief because the hike down looked a big one. The views from the top are stunning. That evening we went to my favourite place for schnitzel, Martin's Bräu. Archie and Nige had the large schnitzel which looked more like a shark but triumphantly finished them.

The view from Schauinsland

On Sunday we went to Titisee, a huge lake near Freiburg. It is beautiful. We went on an electric ring boat which travelled at around 1mph. We were repeatedly overtaken by people on pedalos but ours didn't require any effort. My dad also managed to upset an angry German by nearly driving the ring into his fishing lines. "Don't you have eyyyes", he said. 

Titisee, slightly bigger than the beer puddle in my kitchen

Total relaxation by a beautiful lake is tiring business so when we got back to Freiburg we had a well-earned beer in O'Kelly's and then Feierling. The weather was brilliant (and still is) which I'm happy about because Freiburg is best seen in the warm sun with a large beer. We played darts in O'Kellys, three v three. I am still excited by the fact that I finished the game by (eventually) hitting the double one to win it for us. In the heat of the moment I cheered loudly, probably to the annoyance of the rest of the quiet pub.

Darts German Championship winners 2015

The one that sealed it

Eight things I've learnt whilst living abroad (using gifs)

1. Not everyone gets your sense of humour (although that happens to me at home, too).

2. It takes a bit of time to settle in. That's normal and it's something you have to get through. You might think, why have I left all my friends and family at home? WHAT AM I DOING HERE? But doing something different is good for you.

3. You're not going to understand everything people say to you which means you have to weigh up the decision of whether to ask them what they mean or just nod.

4. There's loads of admin to sort out like setting up a bank account, getting a foreign sim card and registering as a resident. It all takes twice as long as it's in another language. 

5. You find out that football, and not English, is the international language. 

6. You spend more time with other nationalities which makes you more open-minded, confident and tolerant. 

7. You learn that when you're forced to, you can become independent. 

8. And finally, you learn to love what the locals drink and eat. In my case...

"I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

Summer. One of the best things in the world. And for the first time ever, I'm spending my whole summer away from home, but that's okay, because half of it will be in Germany's sunniest city and the other half on the French Mediterranean coast in Montpellier. Ça serait formidable.

Every year I get this budding excitement about the summer because even once you've left school for university it still seems rife with possibility and free of responsibility. This is the very same feeling that distracts you from doing your revision or writing your dissertation, in favour of watching videos of your favourite bands at summer festivals on YouTube or working out if you can afford to go on holiday. 

On Friday I arrived back in Freiburg after being away for a ridiculously long semester break, expecting sun and warmth and getting rain, and lots of it. I'd left the UK's mini heatwave, most of which I'd spent sitting in the garden by my newly-dug pond (which now has at least three fish and a frog, gotta love nature), for rain! Luckily that passed over quickly and Saturday was blue sky and warm breezes. It hasn't changed from that for the last two days either. April's warmth, like October's, always brings out the debate in your mind of trousers vs. shorts. Do you embrace the heat while it lasts and go home as the sun goes down a little chilly? Or do you put up with being too hot and feel smug about wearing trousers when it starts getting cold in the early evening? A debate you will have no doubt encountered and one you thought was too uninteresting to put in a blog post.

So the next few weeks hold some things of interest. As every third year Southampton languages student will (definitely) know and (probably) be panicking about, our Year Abroad Research Project is due in two weeks. I have to say it's a relief to be writing this in English. Once that's done it's summer as far as I'm concerned. Then on my birthday, 7th May, the UK Government has decided to hold a general election as a 21st birthday present for me. And people say David Cameron isn't kind.

George x
P.S. Anyone know where the opening quote is from?!