In response to an FT article by Martin Wolf on 9th February 2016, entitled 'The battle over Brexit matters to the world'
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f67a2d8e-ce6d-11e5-831d-09f7778e7377.html#ixzz3ziTM5q6Z
To me at least, this article says a lot about your attitudes to 'democracy' and 'sovereignty' Mr. Wolf.
You say:
"This, then, is an inescapably awkward relationship. But it has also been a workable one. That is why this referendum is such an unnecessary risk"
So because a relationship is 'workable', then to make a major change is an 'unnecessary risk'. Seriously? We wouldn't want anyone taking any 'risks' with something as trifling as the form, extent and location of their government would we? The 'State' acknowledging that the 'people' have a choice over where they invest their sovereignty? Who needs a vote on that? Better to forgo a vote, and by that very action, vote for the status quo. The 'risk' implicit in your argument is that you won't get the result you want Mr. Wolf. Your position is a more subtle variation of one I've heard before:
“We know that nine out of ten people will not have read the Constitution and will vote on the basis of what politicians and journalists say. More than that, if the answer is No, the vote will probably have to be done again, because it absolutely has to be Yes.”
– Jean-Luc Dehaene, Former Belgian Prime Minister and Vice-President of the EU Convention, Irish Times, June 2004
So, no thanks Mr Wolf - sovereignty is ‘my’ decision. 'My' being every person who votes, 'you' included. What you don't get to do - is to decide on my behalf whether or not it's too risky. I'll take the risk.
Finally, you also say:
"Yet many people greatly desire to give respectable opinion a good kicking"
'Respectable opinion'? Again...seriously?
Respectable: "Regarded by society to be good, proper, or correct".
Again, that's why we're having a referendum Mr. Wolf - so we can find out what the people of this country regard as ‘good, proper and correct’.
There’ve been a number of articles recently pondering why so many people are moving away from the ‘mainstream’ towards so called ‘extreme politicians’. To me, your attitudes are symptomatic of what is happening. It’s not that people want to give ‘respectable’ opinion a good kicking – it’s that people want to give 'elitist' opinion a good kicking. There's a big difference.