Scott, thank you for a thoughtful article. I appreciate it and applaud its lack of a sky is falling panic. I have great faith in Britain. It has a proud people and deservedly so, you have a rich history of triumph over adversity and accomplishments that make this seem like much ado about nothing. I don’t mean to diminish the anguish or cost this decision has had, but I, like you, think that you (as a country) will find a path not yet seen that will bring you to new heights. Really, I hope your countrymen can take a breath and remember that yours is a country that has a rich history of accomplishments — not the least of which is thriving in the face of incredible adversity — you were a country that stood up and eventually beat the strongest war machine on the planet which was at its peak by remaining calm and carrying on. You are no slouches in breaking the limits of tech either — I mean really- the spitfire, the harrier, radar — stuff the world has you to thank for.

Also, I hasten to point out — the very people that created the financial crisis — those people are opportunist money makers. Their game plan got messed up so they got spooked and also pouted — but really, you know that they are already looking and speculating on where they can make money again and they will see opportunities in the chaos and you will see new inflows of capital as new business models and ventures materialize. There is no way they will let a highly educated people and the vast infrastructure you have lay fallow.

Finally, the judgement of history is still very much in flux. Britain may yet be seen as a trail blazer — a protector of culture and national identity in the future. Other countries may follow you because, it is worth remembering that the ECC was supposed to be an economic trading entity, the EU was supposed to be more efficient trades/goods/work force moving device, but it has been usurping more and more of the apparel of a super government that was blending all countries more and more into homogeneous type vassal states — and somewhere down the line all would look like one and since it appears that Brussels is the one it has arbitrarily decided to clone…well, I for one, in a self admitted selfish motive, have no desire to visit anywhere in the UK only to find the charm of the British has been subsumed and is extinct and the only person there is a Belgium. (not that I have anything against the Belgiums but I hope that makes my point.)

I know you guys will triumph (even if you don’t have ice cubes in your water and won’t let me fire off fireworks on the 4th of July)