Voting Away

I am a Soutie. There were 48 people from all over the world at the ceremony when I became a British Citizen. It was a beautiful thing. The speech spoke of Britain as an idea, like Marcus Aurelius spoke of Rome in The Gladiator, 'There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish... it was so fragile.  And I fear that it will not survive the winter.' This is not the story of Britain I grew up with in South Africa. It is not the way Britain is viewed around the world. It was something that was worth believing in. When the Referendum came, I was gutted. My European Citizenship was voted away. A brutal reminder that we aren't essentially anything. Anything temporary can't be who we are. So I am not South African. Not British. Not a Soutie. I am the relationships I have with people. No one can vote those away. Today, I voted. I voted Liberal Democrats because I believe in a world where we don't convince people. We empower people.