Every schoolchild in the land knows that there were two World Wars in the last century, killing millions of good people, which were caused by the Nationalism of these different countries. The nationalist political parties did not intend to make a war at any time; they only wanted to have their own way, ignoring other countries. But that is what produced the wars, the same limited and primitive mindset, loud-mouthed in many different countries, in contradiction of each other.
So it seems very strange that many parents of these well-informed children, have learnt absolutely nothing, and still see a dangerous world, in the same isolationist terms of what suits ‘my country’, with no effort to grasp a wider perspective. Internationalism makes more sense than deliberate ignorance.
Everybody knows that the European Union was set up precisely for that purpose, to bind nations closer in shared values of justice and peace, especially so that their differences shall not be settled in blood once more, and yet UKIP are particularly opposed to the whole idea of nations working together for a safer world. UKIP does not mind trade agreements, which is the only focus of their narrow thoughts, but trade agreements cannot stop wars. Only the commitment to the EU and other international institutions, under the stumbling direction of the United Nations, can possibly make the future better than the past, for those schoolchildren.
Colin Crilly by e mail
