On the Coast – Over 55 Issue 29 I May/June 2019 | Page 14

Thinking for the future
by Sarah Tolmie
I
was recently talking to a 93 year
old tourist from the UK. He was
an amazing man both fit in body
and fit in mind. He was already
planning his next holiday. In fact
he was planning many holidays
for many years ahead! He was a
real inspiration and a positive
living role model for thinking
young...for future thinking.
We couldn’t help ourselves though and
we got talking about Brexit. How can you
avoid it? I suppose I wasn’t surprised that
he might have voted “YES” to leave the
EU but I was interested to know why.
I listened, curious at how different our
thinking was. Clearly our life experiences
have been so different and we also face
very different futures too.
It was hard to hear his strident
views against immigration. (In my head
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S E N I O R S O N T H E C OA S T
I was thinking about
our situation here in
Australia, which is
the same as the UK in
many ways, and I was
thinking, “gosh without
immigration what a
boring monoculture
we’d have. What a
beacon of diversity
and multiculturalism
we have created in
Australia and how
wonderful it is – AND
– not to mention,
without healthy
immigration our country would not
have the necessary growth and working
wages to tax to actually provide the
infrastructure and health services to
support our ageing generation!” But I
didn’t say that.)
He admitted his
view to leave with
Brexit was at odds
with the majority
of the younger
generation who had
grown up within
the EU. (In my head I
was thinking, “gosh,
you’ve voted against
the desires of the
future generation who
will have to live with
and sort out the mess
and disruption it will
create long after you
have gone”. But I didn’t say that.)
He expressed his distain at the youth
of today not working hard for anything
and their ‘attitude of entitlement’ and
that his generation didn’t fight in The
War to have all the gains fought for,