Friday , March 29 2024

The March of the Mods

After a threatening, misleading and tiring campaign waged by both sides of the Remain/Brexit argument leading up to the 23rd June 2016, it was hardly surprising that the great British public, having unplugged itself from the national grid for the day to give their full attention to the task in hand, wended its way to the polling stations and delivered the result they did in the early hours of the 24th.  I felt, and continue to feel sympathy for both sides of that debate.  It was quite obvious that people had made their choice in direct relation to their own personal history and lifestyle, i.e. Baby Boomers who were born during or just after the WW2 and who had experienced both pre and post EEC, and those who had known nothing other than the EU. It was not The Referendum which divided our nation, but its result merely confirmed the fact that the UK was already divided.  Not only did it confirm the divide, but it also flagged up the fact that successive governments had seemingly become lazy and ineffectual in as much as they had allowed the EEC to morph into the EC and then the even more embedded EU, a route which many original voters had never anticipated, and did not want; a route, it transpires many in power had orchestrated all along, How badly they misread their electorate!

Much criticism and blame was, and continues to be levelled at the Brexiters and Remainers alike; intense vitriol still exists, this being most apparent on “social media”, a term I use loosely.  We then had, and still have to suffer the onslaught of the opinions of the Glitterati, Cognoscenti, Alumni and all other Latin root (sounding) “special breeds” who chose and choose to force their views down our throats with their patronising and condescending rebukes.  But, quietly in the background sits a new breed, the “Pragmati”, (a new word for inclusion into the Oxford English Dictionary?), a name I have chosen to give to the Moderate Middle, those people from each side of the divide with a common sense, no nonsense approach to life who are determined to make the very best of our current situation and whatever the future holds, but who have had no satisfactory political home for years.

This political dissatisfaction is quite obvious when surfing through the various comments on SM, but after cutting through the white noise, the heavy duty statistics and the doom-laden predictions, an idea or opinion suddenly leaps out of the page which is truly inspirational, usually emanating from the newly identified Pragmati. They are the problem solvers, the new engineers of our society – the way forward.  They are there in their masses, just keeping their heads down, waiting for the dust to settle (which may take a while), but when all the shouting is over, all insults traded, Article 50 triggered, negotiations complete, and a clear picture of what is to come, the Moderate Middles will deal with it and be our salvation. Here’s to the rise of the Pragmati – “The March of the Mods” – I salute you.

About Sheila C Wright

Sheila C Wright describes herself as an observer and commentator on life, an unashamed non-academic with a genetic predisposition for politics, history, art and classical music. The last 24 years of her working life were consumed by the administration of Powerboat Racing as part of the secretariat of a well-known national authority governing a plethora of water sports within the UK. A former “southerner”, with a one-time peripatetic lifestyle, she is now retired and lives in……………………. comfort (somewhere else).

Check Also

The Peace Proposal: Shadows of Versailles

A change of seasons brings a change of perspective. With St Martin appearing on a …