You may say I'm a dreamer...

It's been a busy year or so which has meant I haven't really had the time or drive to keep up with the whole blogging thing, hence why I've not posted for quite some time. Now that the projects I've been working on are complete I find myself with the free time again and thought now was the perfect time to start it up again, try and commit to regular posts as well as other things I want to get in order with life in general but that's a topic for another day.

For now I thought the best thing to start with on the eve of the EU Referendum that's happening here in the UK, was to post my thoughts on that.

So here goes.

I've never been fond of confrontation, in fact I actively avoid it, which is why I've held back on commenting on the whole subject in a manner more public that discussing it with close friends who are like minded on the subject. When colleagues, friends or family go on at length with views that are contradictory to mine, rather than speak up and discuss/debate/argue the point I keep quiet, go home and write a song about it full of metaphors to the point that no one really knows what I'm saying but me. It's just easier that way. I think it's all part of the introvert "I don't want to upset anyone, falling out is too stressful, I'm trying to please everyone etc. etc." which is one of the general things I want to get in order which I mentioned earlier, but again that's for another day.

I am however not fond of apathy, as a musician and band member who has a strong "political" message in some of the music I write and perform, I have very strong beliefs about such things. However I realise that although I may not have an apathy of belief, I do have an apathy of action. It's all well and good having beliefs but when you don't act on them they have little purpose.

Tomorrow I will be voting to remain in the EU. Now, I could go on with all the arguments - economical, immigration etc. etc. but the internet has been swamped with those lately and I feel that echoing it all here would be a pointless exercise. I will however make a quick comment on immigration by quoting a Facebook post by a friend of mine I read today:

"Voting to leave because of immigrants is like having an itch in the roof of your mouth and using a shotgun to scratch it." - Samuel Breeze

I think this is a great analogy but I would just make a slight change:

"Voting to leave because of immigrants is like thinking you have an itch in the roof of your mouth and using a shotgun to scratch it."

If you genuinely believe that immigration is an issue in this country you seriously have your priorities in the wrong order. There are much bigger problems, mostly involving people that are born and bred in this country.

But anyway, like I say, I could go on about the ins and outs of it all that have been debated and argued to the point of being no more than the internet equivalent of white noise. So I'm going to talk more about the idealogical reasons for my voting to remain, the argument of the heart rather than the head.

My reason for wanting to remain in the EU is because of Star Trek.

Okay, bear with me I know it may seem silly and a poor argument, but let me make my point.

Star Trek depicts a future where humanity has reached a point where the country in which you're born no longer defines you from someone born in another part of the world. Countries still celebrate there history and heritage but have come together as a single nation so to speak where everyone is equal and although people's individuality and uniqueness is still celebrated, so is what makes us all the same - we are all human. Allowing American, Russian & Japanese (not to mention Black & White which was a big deal in the 60s) crew all serve together in the same crew as equals for the same goal - the betterment of humanity. The Earth is no longer a place of countries and nations all trying to out do each other in a political pissing contest with only their own insular interests in mind. It instead has become a single united nation representing humanity as a whole.

Since I was a kid watching Star Trek, this possible future has always been a dream of mine. I have never understood the whole notion of "us and them," my thoughts have always been we are all "us." We're all human aren't we? Why does the fact I was born on this side of a line on a map make me different than those born on the other side?

And that's something else that I've never been able to comprehend - borders. Okay it's fairly easy for us to define where our country ends, we're an island in the sea, quite definitive lines there. But they're nothing more than invisible walls that try and further define who we are by where we were born. I find the whole concept baffling that someone years ago took a map and drew a line and said "you can't cross this line unless I say so." But hey, that's just me.

Why are we so afraid of other people, because they speak a different language, because their skin and faces may have slight differences, their food may be a bit weird. But in the end we're all human, and this world should be for all humanity, not divided by imaginary lines that do nothing but create anonymity towards others. We shouldn't distance ourselves from other cultures but embrace and join with them.

For me the EU represents a step towards this "oneness" that Star Trek showed us and inspired me and millions of others to see the world not as "us and them" but simply "us." The EU isn't perfect and we can have all the good intentions, the willingness to embrace others in mutual cooperation, but we can't force other countries and peoples to feel the same. However we can lead by example.

I genuinely believe leaving the EU will be a huge step backwards in the evolution of humanity when we still have a long way to go on the forwards track. A step back towards insular nations who look at the other countries of the world with nothing more than suspicion, hatred and paranoia. It won't happen in my life time but we should keep moving forwards to a world more like that in Star Trek, where humanity has come together as one to better itself.

You may say I'm a dreamer...

But I'm not the only one.