The EU was created to ensure the coalition of united countries would never go to war with one another and to prevent future devastation. With the UK’s vote on "Brexit" resulting in the decision to leave the EU, many questions have emerged as a result. One can look at how the EU is responding and take note of their obvious disdain for the decision. It can also be assumed that a lot of hostility has followed that decision to leave. Now the question is will this result in another war or conflict, or will this simply be the start of a weakened alliance between the UK and the rest of Europe, assuming that the UK doesn’t sever ties with the U.S. as well?
After the referendum, my boyfriend, who is from England, remarked, “I hope this doesn’t result in World War III.” I hadn’t even considered that a possibility at first because I thought that it was understood by the majority of Europe that a war of that scale does not really benefit anyone in particular until many years following the war. I simply thought that we were too sophisticated to go to war, that we all had learned history's patterns. We know, as a country and as Western civilization, that, although wars can bring economic booms to economies, they can also bring devastation to homes and to the land itself.
I assumed that we could look at what has happened to many Middle Eastern countries and learn by observation that war is more destructive than constructive. However, with all of the heat and press following this decision, I do not know if that is the case any longer. European officials have released statements disparaging the UK's leadership, implying they are not true leaders. The UK itself is going through political infighting, which is causing confusion. This is when I realize that we may not be as sophisticated as I once believed and that this may be the cause of much conflict in the future.
I have realized that, although we are extremely advanced, the political agendas of a well-positioned many will generally overpower the beliefs and desires of an entire region. If war will benefit a region, then "Brexit" proves that nothing will stand in the politicians' way of declaring it.
