The question asked of the British people in 2016 was a 'what' question. Okay, technically it was a 'should' question; but it was essentially a yes/no question. Which - famously - doesn't allow for elaboration.
Obviously the referendum wasn't the forum for that; but neither was anything else afterwards.
And I think had there been a follow-up discussion to a supposedly non-legally binding/advisory referendum (without the aggressive pressure of a countdown), the UK would be in a better place than it is now.
Certainly a lot more healthier, politically speaking.
But I'm going to steer clear of Brexit for now.
This blog is about Why I established the Ministry of Ginger.
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This goes back a number of years before the EU referendum, and I think first began to crystallise around the June 2010 general election, as I found when uploading one of my old blogs.
I felt unrepresented; I felt the political structure (not just first past the post, but the divisive nature of the political chambers) was failing; I felt incorrectly governed.
With successive failings in both elections and referendum since, I have essentially vowed to no longer be governed by something that does not represent myself.
Which has led to the somewhat extreme approach of establishing the Ministry of Ginger.
And this project is still in its infancy. I don't know exactly what I want to achieve yet.
I've idealised about running my own country (population: me, no-one else); I've considered what it means to be a tax-paying citizen of an existing country - something I intend to continue in the United Kingdom for the foreseeable.
I've considered the implications of seceding from the United Kingdom - certainly with a skewed perspective that it would make a great Edinburgh Fringe show someday; but less with the practicality of it all.
Currently, you have to be a part of a country. That is how the current world operates.
But at least from some philosophical levels, even that feels not entirely correct.
So why the Ministry of Ginger?
Well; to explore all of these questions above. And millions more. What does a self-governing individual do when it comes to Finance; Travel; Infrastructure; Health; Art; Time?
Hence the snappily titled departments that covers - I believe - all of the fundamental aspects of a person's existence.
Some of them are more explored than others - I'm really pleased to be living on my own calendar, thanks to my friends at Fish Percolator; an administrative underpinning of a new way of thinking - and yet I'm not really sure what the Department of History and Legacy will say yet.
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This has not been a flash-in-the-pan idea one weekend that has died away (a number of my previous projects have done just that); this has been simmering for a decade I would say now, and is coming very much to the boil given my current location and the political climate here.
So I'm beginning this journey properly - Day One is just over a week away as I write this - and this will be a creative project that evolves continuously throughout the rest of my lifetime. Not beyond; that would be ludicrous; but I certainly hope it lasts with me for the rest of my days.
The calendar certainly will.
Obviously the referendum wasn't the forum for that; but neither was anything else afterwards.
And I think had there been a follow-up discussion to a supposedly non-legally binding/advisory referendum (without the aggressive pressure of a countdown), the UK would be in a better place than it is now.
Certainly a lot more healthier, politically speaking.
But I'm going to steer clear of Brexit for now.
This blog is about Why I established the Ministry of Ginger.
-
This goes back a number of years before the EU referendum, and I think first began to crystallise around the June 2010 general election, as I found when uploading one of my old blogs.
I felt unrepresented; I felt the political structure (not just first past the post, but the divisive nature of the political chambers) was failing; I felt incorrectly governed.
With successive failings in both elections and referendum since, I have essentially vowed to no longer be governed by something that does not represent myself.
Which has led to the somewhat extreme approach of establishing the Ministry of Ginger.
And this project is still in its infancy. I don't know exactly what I want to achieve yet.
I've idealised about running my own country (population: me, no-one else); I've considered what it means to be a tax-paying citizen of an existing country - something I intend to continue in the United Kingdom for the foreseeable.
I've considered the implications of seceding from the United Kingdom - certainly with a skewed perspective that it would make a great Edinburgh Fringe show someday; but less with the practicality of it all.
Currently, you have to be a part of a country. That is how the current world operates.
But at least from some philosophical levels, even that feels not entirely correct.
So why the Ministry of Ginger?
Well; to explore all of these questions above. And millions more. What does a self-governing individual do when it comes to Finance; Travel; Infrastructure; Health; Art; Time?
Hence the snappily titled departments that covers - I believe - all of the fundamental aspects of a person's existence.
Some of them are more explored than others - I'm really pleased to be living on my own calendar, thanks to my friends at Fish Percolator; an administrative underpinning of a new way of thinking - and yet I'm not really sure what the Department of History and Legacy will say yet.
-
This has not been a flash-in-the-pan idea one weekend that has died away (a number of my previous projects have done just that); this has been simmering for a decade I would say now, and is coming very much to the boil given my current location and the political climate here.
So I'm beginning this journey properly - Day One is just over a week away as I write this - and this will be a creative project that evolves continuously throughout the rest of my lifetime. Not beyond; that would be ludicrous; but I certainly hope it lasts with me for the rest of my days.
The calendar certainly will.
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