I watched some of the British debate last evening about banning Donald Trump from entering the UK. Although it appears I was the only one wearing a black robe and powdered wig (although this is what I usually wear), what struck me most was the sheer civility of the politicians. They were intelligent, well-spoken, well-prepared, respectful, reasonable, and worldly-wise. In a nutshell, everything our elected officials are not.
They gladly yielded the floor to the opposition, and then thanked them for their remarks. They also displayed a tolerant attitude towards America, like a patient parent talking about a wayward child. The debate was punctuated with the droll humor associated with the English, and many of the remarks had me laughing till my side hurt. It's always fun listening to them mispronounce our language, but one young MP from Northern Ireland had me spellbound with his Irish brogue. Kissed the Blarney Stone did that one.
Another thing I found interesting was the debate itself was triggered by an online petition. By law, when a petition is signed by a minimum of 100,000 people, the matter must be taken up in Parliament. I also found it interesting that the Labour party legislator who introduced the bill stated whereas the petition calling for Trump's ban received over 570,000 signatures, an opposing bill received 40,000 signatures. The only thing is when investigated, 30,000 of those signatures were fake.
As the debate ended, with a non-binding vote of ayes and nays, the ban was approved. What an embarrassment for America in the eyes of the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment