The Brexit Referendum - I Voted!

Justin here, this is my own personal rant, so Kris is off the hook for anything I write here.
So I have just returned from voting in my first, non-Canadian election/referendum.  Having not missed any opportunity to vote since turning 18, when I realized that, as a citizen of a commonwealth country, with 'leave to remain' (a.k.a. residency) in the UK, I was eligible to cast a ballot, I registered myself straight away.

If you haven't been paying attention, Brexit, is a referendum being held here in the UK in which each citizen has the opportunity to indicate their preference for the UK to remain a member of the EU.   John Oliver did a great piece about it on his show last weekend.  The video is here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAgKHSNqxa8.
During the last election here, David Cameron, trying to win a majority, promised an 'in/out' referendum during the next term of his government.  By the way, an 'in/out' referendum is exactly as straightforward as it sounds, the question I was asked on the ballot was (approximately) "Should the UK remain a member of the European Union?".  It was nothing like the wordy and convoluted question posed during the last Quebec referendum for secession.

So here we are, after months of campaigning, and what has generally been decided to be a filthy campaign, full of something between partial truths and outright lies.  Even costing one sitting British MP her life in a brazen and hate filled attack last week.  Particularly on the part of the leave campaign, whose main goal has been to stoke anti-immigrant sentiment and play to the worst fears of the general population.  Aside from the fact that most of what they are wishing for, and promising is unlikely, if not downright impossible, as an immigrant to this country, albeit only for a short time, I have to say I'm appalled.  Leaders should appeal to our best selves.  In a world where global trade, migration and cultural exchanges are happening at a rate never before possible, the very idea that 'leaders' of the UK would play on fears of protectionism, anti-immigration, and isolationism as a 'strong, patriotic' choice is ridiculous.

Kristin and I continue to comment when we see some of the ancient sites we've been able to visit, how strange it is for us, because in Canada, our oldest buildings are only maybe 150 years old, and just about everyone (first nations excluded) can tell you which of their ancestors were the ones to immigrate to Canada, and approximately when.
Here in Europe, that idea seems lost to history, but what is obvious from having lived here, and walking the streets, is that the UK is a beacon of hope for many people of the world, a place where they hope they can set down roots, they can adopt some of the local customs, and bring some of their own to share.  Last year, Fish and Chips was replaced as the most commonly ordered British food... you know what by... Chicken Korma.  If that isn't something to say immigration, cultural exchanges, and globalization, not corporate, but individual, is as alive and well here, as it is anywhere; well I don't know what is.

We're off to Rome this afternoon.  I hope when we return, it's to a United Kingdom that remains united in Europe.