The British New York Times columnist Roger Cohen has registered, in this recent item, his condescending disapproval of David Cameron’s rejection of the EU’s fiscal-union proposal. It is regrettable, opines Mr. Cohen, that the “pinstriped effluence” of the ancient British nation should wax so mawkishly sentimental over its silly old sovereignty, which is at this point nothing more than an embarrassing reminder of its obsolete, and morally embarrassing, imperial pretensions. Here’s a little sample of Mr. Cohen’s tone:
Since Cameron’s “No,’ there’s been much chatter about the return of Britain’s “bulldog spirit.’ Self-delusion is a lingering attribute of former imperial nations adjusting to a lesser reality.
Let’s unpack that a little:
Yes, you were once a great nation and people, but no longer, and good riddance. You are now a sagging, broken, deracinated little country, just as we planned — with nothing left to sustain you but empty traditions and fading memories, and no hope for the future but to submit to the will of your new masters.
Kneel!
In response (and with a hat tip to David Duff), here’s Ed West of the Daily Telegraph:
Of course the EU has brought wonderful benefits. In the old days one had to go through the palaver of changing currencies before going on holiday; now, thanks to the EU, that is no longer a problem, as no one can afford holidays. And, of course, after 45 years of European peace, a peace maintained by the US military (protection which, alas, has created a sort of infantile anti-Americanism among Europeans, the same sense of resentment a grown-up child living with their parents feels), the EU has done an amazing job of bringing Europeans together. The German chancellor is rarely off the front page of the Greek press, and Irishmen love the fact that their budget must first be discussed in Berlin before anyone in Dublin has a say.
But of course the EU is not about economics, and never has been ”“ it’s a moral idea with the millennial goal of destroying nationalism, which is why for four decades British Eurosceptics have been cast as moral deviants or caricatures (incidentally the latest YouGov polls show less support for the EU among women than men). That is why Guardian readers ”“ and I imagine it is quite similar with New York Times readers ”“ are always surprised to find normal, affable people who hold conservative views.
That last bit — about educated liberals who have been so deeply marinated in the warm crock-pot of smug multi-culti PC groupthink for so long that they’re genuinely surprised, upon finally making the acquaintance of an actual conservative, to find that he lacks horns and a tail — I can vouch for personally. Where I live, it happens all the time.
You can read the rest of Mr. West’s piece here.