Well, I had a splendid bike ride this morning, drifting and splashing my way around. Maybe that was why I was a bit crotchety yesterday – a nice ride always clears the head a bit and I usually go on a Saturday morning.
Yesterday I got well out of line and was rightly pulled up on it. Being described as ‘vile’ stung me and, although it took a while, I realised that this was a valuable wake up call. Now, feeling refreshed after a ride, I can see how far I had sunk into spouting hateful words. Effectively doing the very thing that runs counter to the campaign to remain in the EU. In short, not living by the positive values that go hand in hand with that campaign:
Inclusivity.
Internationalist.
Facing the future and not fearing change.
And most importantly (and the one I fell well short of):
Hope not Hate.
So, I am going to stop the mudslinging from a keyboard, and put my efforts much more positively into the campaign to remain. I’m a bit giddy about it, as I have never really gone in for any kind of political activism, and I’m sure it won’t be easy. But struggling for a positive good is always worthwhile and much more rewarding than sitting back and sniping at the other side. After all, if we do achieve the goal of staying in the EU it will be much harder to build bridges with people who were on the other side if all I have done is insult them!
Sorry to anyone who felt insulted by my posts, and that is a genuine apology as it was (wrongly) my intention to be insulting at times.
Thanks for setting me straight and giving me a new sense of purpose guys.